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MEMORIAL 



OF 



JOEL PARKER, 






FREEHOLD, N. J. : 
MONMOUTH DEMOCRAT PRINT. 

1889. 






<fi 



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BIOGRAPHICAL. 



JOEL PARKER. 

A MEMORIAL PREPARED AT THE REQUEST OF THE NEW 
JERSEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



By James S. Yard. 



Bead at the meeting of the Societu at Neicark, Ma;/ 17, 1888. 



BIRTH, PARENTAGE AND EDUCATION. 

Joe] Parker was born in Freehold township on the 24th 
of I^ovember, 1816, in a liousc still standing on the Mount 
Holly road about four miles west of Freehold, in what is 
now Millstone township. A small village known as 
Smithburg has grown up around it recently. His father 
was Charles Parker, who was born in the same neighbor- 
hood, and who was Sheriff of the county, member of the 
Assembly, and for thirteen years State Treasurer and at 
the same time State Librarian. His mother, who was 
also a native of the county as it was then constituted, was 
a daughter of Capt. Joseph Coward, of the Continental 
Army. He received his primary education at the old 
Trenton Academy, and was prepared for college at the 
Lawrenceville High School. In the meantime he spent 
two years as manager on a farm which his father then 
owned near Colts ISTeck. He was graduated at Princeton 
iu 1839, and immediately commenced the study of law in 
the office of the Hon. Henry W. Green, at Trenton, and 
was admitted to the Bar in 1842, when he located at Free- 
hold and commenced the practice of his profession. 

HIS EARLY CAREER. 

In 1840 he cast his first Presidential vote for Martin 
Van Buren, the nominee of the Democratic party. In 



6 MEMORIAL OF 

1844 he entered the political arena in support of the elec- 
tion of James K. Polk as President, and distinguished 
himself in that campaign as a public speaker. In 1847 
he was elected to the Assembly and served one year. He 
was then the youngest member of the House, but being 
the only lawyer on the Democratic side, he became the 
party leader, especially on all questions having a legal 
bearing. He distinguished himself in the Legislature 
and gained a State reputation by the introduction of a 
bill to equalize taxation by taxing personal as well as 
real property, and by a speech in support of the measure, 
which was printed in the newspapers throughout the 
State. At the close of his term in the Assembly he de- 
clined a nomination as candidate for the State Senate on 
account of his growing practice, which demanded his 
entire atteution. In 1852 he was appointed Prosecutor 
of the Pleas, which office he held for one term, and ac- 
quitted himself therein with marked ability. During 
his term he tried the celebrated case against James P. 
Donnelly for the murder of Albert Moses, at the Sep- 
tember term of 1857. He was assisted by Attorney-Gen- 
eral William L. Daj'ton ; the opposing counsel were 
Joseph P. Bradley (afterward Associate Justice of the U. 
S. Supreme Court), ex-Gov. Pennington aud A. C. 
McLeau. The trial lasted nine days. The evidence was 
largely circumstantial, and the case is still quoted as one 
of the great trials of the period. The case was prepared 
and conducted by Mr. Parker, and won for him a leading 
position at the Bar of the State. 

EFFORTS TO ORGANIZE THE MILITIA AND TO PROMOTE 
VOLUNTEERING. 

At a meeting of the regimental officers of the Mon- 
mouth and Ocean Brigade, held at Freehold on the 1st of 
December, 1857, he was unanimously elected Brigadier- 
General of the Brigade. He subsequently proceeded to 



JOEL PARKER. 7 

thorouglilj organize the corps, holding elections in the 
several regiments, appointing meetings for the instruction 
of the officers, and organizing uniformed companies, 
which he subsequently brought together for parade and 
review.* At the outbreak of the war Major-General 
Moore, of Ocean county. Commander of the Third Divi- 
sion of the State Militia, resigned on account of age and 
infirmity, and on the 7th of May, 1861, General Parker 
was nominated by Governor Olden and confirmed by the 
Senate as his successor. The appointment was made 
with a view to the promotion of volunteering and the 
organization of forces for the suppression of the Rebel- 
lion. " He encouraged the military spirit of the people 
within the bounds of his Division, comprising the coun- 
ties of Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean, by 
holding public meetings, organizing the uniformed com- 
panies and bringing the latter together for inspection and 
review at Freehold, on which occasion he had 1,500 men 
in line, the largest parade of the kind ever held previous 
to that time in that section of the State. f Referring to 
these efforts to promote volunteering, the Hon. Thomas 
H. Dudley, of Camden, said:;}; "The confidence re- 
posed in him by Governor Olden at that time was not 
misplaced. It was fully sustained in every way. Joel 
Parker was true ; he was honest and loyal. He under- 
took the work and he did it. He rallied as many, if not 
more, men than any other man in the State around the 
standard for the defence of his country. * * He was 
patriotic and gave his hands and his heart to the work. 
He did his duty and he did it well, and the people sus- 
tained him. * * When he came to occupy the Exec- 
utive Chair he followed in the same patriotic line. He 
was true and loyal to the State and the country, and the 
oath of office he had taken." 



*Monmouth Democrat, August 19, September 2, October 14 and October 30, 1858. 
t Ibid. May 29, 1802. | Address before the Bar of Camdeu. 



8 MEMORIAL OF 

While lie was Governor he took an active interest in 
the organization of the militia and in providing heavy 
ordnance, small arms and other munitions in store in the 
State Arsenal, ready for any emergency that might call 
for their use. During his first administration, the militia 
laws were revised and encouragement was given to the 
organization of a uniformed corps of militia, of Avhich 
the present efficient " National Guard " is the outgrowth. 
He held that a State without a well-organized and effective 
militia failed in its dutv to the o-eneral government. He 
considered it the duty of everj- State not only to be pre- 
pared to enforce the law within its own borders when the 
civil authorities prove powerless to maintain the peace, 
without calling for aid from regular troops, but also to be 
able, in case of emergency, to aid the general government 
with militar}' power.* 

NAMED FOR CONGRESSIONAL AND GUBERNATORIAL HONORS. 

In 1854 he was prominently named for Congress but, 
in a public letter, declined being considered as a candidate 
for the nomination on the ground that, if elected, it would 
destroy his private business, which the claims of his 
growing family would not warrant.f In 1858 it was again 
proposed to nominate him for Congress, but this came 
from the so-called " opposition " party, and had in view 
the division of the Democratic party. In reply to this 
j^roposition, which was made by a correspondent of a 
local newspaper, he said that believing the success of the 
Democratic party contributed to the welfare of the nation, 
lie would exceedingly regret any divisions in its ranks, 
and that no act of his sliould tend toward that event. | 

In 1856 his name was first mentioned for Governor of 
the State. He declined being considered as a candidate 
for the nomination, but recommended for it Col. William 
C. Alexander, who afterward received it. In 1859 he 
was asrain named for this position but he again declined. 



* Annual Message, 1874. t True American, May ?A, 1854. 
I Letter to the Monmouth Inquirer, March 5, 1858. 



JOEL PARKER. 9 

111 the Presidential campaign of 1860 he espoused the 
cause of Mr. Douglas as against a fusion ticket nominated 
at the suggestion of the Democratic State Central Com- 
mittee and representing the three organizations opposed 
to the Tiepublican party. lie insisted that the Democratic 
party of New Jersey was represented only in the conven- 
tion that nominated Mr. Douglas : that the candidates 
nominated were Democrats, the platform adopted was 
Democratic, and therefore that the party in Xew Jersey, 
by usage and by every principle of honor, was bound to 
sustain the action of that Convention. He, with others, 
published during the campaign a small newspaper* which 
was extensively circulated, gratuitously, throughout Mon- 
mouth county, in which he maintained his views. On 
the eve of the election a compromise was effected, both 
electoral tickets were withdrawn, and a single electoral 
ticket was agreed upon, composed of three friends of 
Douglas and two of each of the other candidates. Owing 
to the fact that a straight Douglas ticket was run in some 
sections, four of the Democratic electors were defeated, 
while the Douglas electors were elected by nearly five 
thousand majority. Joel Parker was one of these, and in 
the Electoral College cast one of the three Douglas votes 
of New Jersey. He was again elected one of the Presi- 
dential electors for Xew Jersey in 1876, and cast his vote 
for Samuel J. Tilden for President. 

FIRST TERM AS GOVERNOR. 

In the Fall of 1862 he was nominated by the Demo- 
cratic State Convention for Governor, and was elected by 
a majority of 14,600 votes — a majority three times as great 
as had ever before been given for any candidate for that 
position. His administration was eminentl}' a successful 
one and was especially distinguished for its efficiency in 
promoting enlistments to aid in the suppression of the 
rebellion, and for successfully keeping up volunteering 



*The Spirit of Democracy. The only file of this newspaper known to be in existence 
is in the possession of the New Jersey Historical Society. 



10 MEMORIAL OF 

for this purpose for a year after all other States had re- 
sorted to drafting to fill up their regiments. 

In 1863, learning that the General Government was 
about to assign quotas to the several districts in New 
Jersey and to draft for the troops, Governor Parker ap- 
plied for authority to raise volunteers, to bo credited to 
the quota in case a draft should be ordered. The au- 
thority was granted, and under it ho issued a proclama- 
tion to the people and an appeal to municipal authorities 
and individuals to make special efforts to promote volun- 
teering by public meetings and the payment of bounties. 
This appeal was responded to generally throughout the 
State, aud was generously aided by the press without 
distiuction of party. Two-thirds of the quotas subse- 
quently assigned were thus obtained, and the draft which 
had been ordered was postponed. This was at a season 
when labor was fully employed, aud under circumstances 
that were discouraging.* Another assignment of quotas 
later in the same year was filled in like manner. Through 
these efforts New Jersey is enabled to boast that no man 
was ever taken unwillingly from the State to fill the (piota 
of troops demanded by the general government.f 

THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

It was during Governor Parker's first year (1863) that 
the great battle of Gettysburg was fought. When Lee 
invaded Pennsylvania, Governor Curtin, of that State, 
had but few troops at his command, and in the imniinent 
peril that threatened. Governor Parker came to his assist- 
ance by inducing several regiments that had just returned 
to retrace their steps. lie also issued a proclamation to 
the people, and before the citizens of Philadelphia had 
recovered from their panic or had raised a single company 
to defend their State, thousands of Jerseymen were marcli- 
ing through that city to the scene of action, for which 

* Annual Message, 1864. 

t For the official correspondence upon this and kindred subjcc'.s see Appendix to 
the Governor's Message, Legislative Documents, 1865. 



JOEL PARKER. 11 

service he received through Governor Ciirtiu the thanks 
of the people of Pennsylvania, and of President Lincoln, 
who wrote : " Please accept my sincere thanks for what 
you have done and are doing to get troops forward." Col, 
William R. Murphy, commanding a portion of the I^ew 
Jersey troops in Pennsylvania during this emergency, in 
a letter to Governor Parker dated at Camp Curtin, June 
20th, said: " * * We have receiv^ed every attention 
because we are Jerseymen. ' A citizen of j^ew Jersey ' 
is a prouder title than that of ' a Roman Citizen.' "* 

THE INVASION OF MARYLAND. 

In the summer of 1864 the rebels under Evvell and 
Mosby invaded Maryland and the battle of Monocacy was 
fought, in which our Fourteenth Regiment was so badly 
cut up. In the absence of any definite information re- 
garding this invasion, and anticipating the necessity that 
appeared to be imminent. Governor Parker, without wait- 
ing to hear from the military authorities at Washington, 
immediately issued his proclamation calling for troops at 
a moment's notice. Of this proclamation the Philadelphia 
Inquirer., a Republican newspaper, said : 

Joel Parker, Governor of New Jersey, deserves the thanks of the 
loyal people of the United States. His proclamation, published yes- 
terday, is conceived in the genuine spirit of patriotism, and has a ring 
that will gladden every loyal heart. 

HOW HE CARED FOR JERSEY SOLDIERS IN THE FIELD. 

In 1863, after the battle of Gettysburg, and without 
waiting for the action of the Legislature, Governor Par- 
ker dispatched an agent to the battle-field to personally 
superintend, with great care, the removal of the remains 
of the N'ew Jersey dead, a plot of ground Avas secured on 
the field, the bodies were carefully re-interred, and the 
ground was set apart for this sacred purpose, with appro- 
priate ceremonies, in the presence of a vast concourse of 
people assembled to witness them. 

* Legislative Documents, 18C5. 



12 MEMORIAL OF 

Daring his first year as Governor he organized a State 
Agency, with headquarters at "Washington City, to look 
after the welfare of the l^ew Jerse}^ troops in the field, to 
facilitate transfers and discharo;es in deserving; cases, and 
to alleviate in many ways the sufferings of the sick and 
wounded in the hospitals. This agency was assisted at 
Washington by an association of resident Jerseymen, 
without expense to the State. The agency also received 
money from the soldiers in the field and transmitted it to 
their families without expense to them, and during the 
war many hundreds of thousands of dollars were thus 
received and transmitted without loss. Thousands of 
New Jersey soldiers and their families to-day bless Gov- 
ernor Parker for his kindly sympathy and foresight in 
organizing this agency. 

These are only examples of his constant and unremit- 
ting care and watchfulness over the interests of the brave 
Jerseymen who breasted the storm during the nation's 
peril. After every battle, and at intervals when circum- 
stances seemed to require it, special agents were dis- 
patched to the headquarters of the several regimental 
organizations in the field to ascertain their condition, to 
minister to the wants of the soldiers, and to relieve their 
sufterings. Most of this action was taken upon his own 
motion and at the dictates of his own heart and mind. 
He instituted inquiries into the condition of the disabled 
soldiers and their families, and appointed a commission 
to report what legislation was necessary. In his second 
annual message he recommended the establishment of a 
soldiers' home, or retreat, which recommendation was 
acted upon, and homes were established which have since 
been the means of comfort and sustenance to hundreds of 
New Jersey soldiers who otherwise, in their declining 
years, would have had no home that they could properlj' 
call their own. 



JOEL PARKER. 13 

VIEWS AS TO THE CONDUCT OF THE AVAR. 

Gov. Parker was frank and outspoken in his sentiments 
as to the conclnct of the war. While diflering frequently 
Avith the administration at Washington in regard to mat- 
ters of policy, he was very decided in his views as to the 
principles involved, and never faltered in his belief that 
the Union would be ultimately restored. In analyzing 
the causes which led to the war he held that the misffuid- 
ed agitators in the Xorth for the abolition of slavery 
provoked the hatred of the South, severed the bonds of 
Christian fellowship and silenced the counsels of moder- 
ation and conciliation, thus enabling a minority of fanat- 
ical and ultra men in each section to control the current 
of events and to bring the Government to the verge of 
destruction. At the same time he insisted that the res- 
toration and maintenance of the Union of the States was 
the chief duty of the citizen. Failure in the proper ad- 
ministration of a good government did not discharge us 
from an obligation to perpetuate that government. It 
should rather increase our exertions to bring its rulers 
back to the true principles on Avhicli the government was 
founded. We should not be afraid of peace — an honor- 
able and permanent peace — whether it come by the exer- 
cise of power or the exercise of conciliation ; but it should 
be a peace on the basis of " the Union as it was ;" not a 
union of States where part are held in subjection as con- 
quered provinces, adding nothing to the material inter- 
ests and prosperity of the nation, and only furnishing a 
theatre of action for swarms of military officials ; but a 
Union of all the States, Avith their equality and rights un- 
impaired, and bringing Avith it such unity as will have the 
Constitution for its foundation and obedience to laAV its 
corner-stone.* He ditFered Avith the Administration at 
Washington in regard to the amnesty proclamation, 
because it dictated terms that honorable men, in his judg- 
ment, could not accede to, and to the emancipation proc- 



luaugural, 1863. 



14 MEMORIAL OF 

lamation, because the line of argument rendered the Con- 
stitution inoperative in time of war, and made all our 
rights subject to executive discretion.* He considered 
these measures calculated to prolong the war. lie did 
not sympathize with the idea, entertained by some, that 
the war would destroy all hope of union, nor that it was 
to the interests of the country that our armies should be 
withdrawn from the S(Duth, with the idea that the South 
would at some future time voluntarily return to the 
Union. On the contrary he believed that such a policy 
would be a confession of weakness and would result in 
perpetual disunion, continual war and the overthrow of 
our system of government. lie insisted upon "the duty 
of the State authorities to furnish the men necessary to 
destroy the armed power of the rebellion," and that it 
Avas " equally the duty of the general government to 
accompany the exercise of the power entrusted to it with 
proper terms of conciliation. "f Referring to the obstruc- 
tionists, who insisted among other things that the Union 
should not be restored under the old Constitution, and 
who denounced as traitors those Avho protested against 
such a policy, he urged that: 

Wise men will not be driven from the path of duty by the errors or 
vituperation of others. AVhatever others may now say or do will not 
palliate the crime of those who took up arms against the government, 
or lessen the obligations of patriotic men to aid in their overthrow. 
"We should not abandon the government of our country, engaged in 
war with those who would destroy our national existence, whether 
temporarily administered to our liking or not. The government is 
designed to be perpetual, while administrations are transient. We 
must subdue the rebellion and save the country in spite of all difficul- 
ties. That which interferes with the speedy restoration of the Union 
under the Constitution, whether it proceeds from the enemy or exists 
among ourselves, must be overcome. Every obstacle in the way, 
whether it be the rebel armies, or the fatal policy of those in power, 
should be swept from existence by the people ; in the one case by the 
use of military force, and in the other by the untrammeled exercise of 
the elective franchise. However strong our armies may become, suc- 

* Annual Message, 1SG4. t Ibid. 



JOEL PARKER. 15 

cess will be delayed unless we have the right civil policy. In fact, 
without the right civil policy, victory will not give us a Union worthy 
of the name.* 

Again he said : 

After the country shall have recovered from its present excitement 
it surely will be discerned that to restore the nation to its former hap- 
py condition of peace and unity the conquest of the territory alone 
will not suffice, but the hearts of the people must also be won back 
from their estrangement. But whatever difference of opinion may 
exist as to questions of policy, we should be united in the determina- 
tion to maintain the Union of the States. If those in rebellion desire 
to return they should not be prevented by unconstitutional and unjust 
conditions. Should they refuse to accept the offer of proper and just 
terms, upon them will be the responsibility. The Union must be pre- 
served. The Union should be the sole condition of peace, and that 
must be adhered to with unswerving fidelity, as the only foundation of 
our strength, securitj' and happiness as a nation.f 

Later in the progress of reconstruction he said : 

To give peace to the South and prosperity to the whole country, the 
Christian spirit of charity must be invoked. Magnanimity and for- 
giveness should take the place of hate and vengeance. Love and good- 
will can accomplish more than proscription.^ 

A CLOSE ADHERENT TO THE ESTABLISHED PRINCIPLES OF 
FREE GOVERNMENT. 

Gov. Parker was a firm supporter of tlie fundamental 
principles of our government as expounded by the fath- 
ers. He insisted upon maintaining the freedom of speech 
even in the throes of our civil war — not only as a sabred 
principle, but as a measure of public safety. lie said : 

There would be a much better state of feeling and greater unity of 
sentiment among the people of the loyal States should it become more 
generally understood that men may oppose the policy of an adminis- 
tration and still be firm friends of the government and steadfast lovers 
and supporters of the Union. Minorities have an important work to 
do in opposing and checking the assumptions of arbitrary power and 
the errors of administration which continued success usually produces. 
None of us have a right to be idle or listless spectators of passing 
events. We all have an interest in the welfare of the nation, and 
should put forth every effort to maintain the integrity of the Union 
and perpetuate the government of our fiithers. If we believe that 
measures have been inaugurated which, if persisted in, will continue 

* Annual Message, 1S64. f Annual Message, 18C5. | Inaugural, 1872. 



16 MEMORIAL OF 

indefinitely the terrible strife between the sections, and finally produce 
separation, it is not only our right but our solemn duty to use every 
lawful means to induce a change of measures. Such action, when not 
taking the form of factious interference, is perfectly consistent with 
obedience to law and the fulfilment of every obligation imposed by the 
highest type of loyalty, and will result not in weakening the govern- 
ment but in giving it strength and stability by correcting the errors of 
those who administer it. We should never despair of the republic. 
The greater the exigency the higher should our patriotism rise.* 

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND ARBITRARY ARRESTS, 

He was always jealous of the rights of the individual 
citizen as guaranteed by the Constitution. He at all 
times firmly and earnestly maintained personal liberty as 
one of the absolute rights of man, and its protection one 
of the primary objects of government.f Referring to the 
arbitrary seizure of citizens of the State without due pro- 
cess of law he said :| "It concerns every man in the 
community. It is the privilege as Avell as the solemn duty 
of a free people to inquire into any claim of power which 
infringes upon the well defined guards of personal liber- 
ty," and while recognizing the necessity for the suspen- 
sion of the writ of habeas corpus x\Adien public safety 
required it, he held that it was " of vital importance to 
the people to know by what power the privilege of this 
great writ can be suspended, and at whose will their lib- 
erties are held. * * It is as much a departure from the 
Constitution, and almost as dangerous in its tendency, 
for one department of government to infringe upon the 
province and assume the powers delegated to another 
department, as it is to usurp powers that have never 
passed from the people ;"§ and referring to the alleged 
" military necessity " as a justification for the suspension 
of the writ, he concluded: " As this alleged power [the 
war power] is limited only by the will and discretion of 
him who exercises it, there is no conceivable form of out- 
rage upon individual rights or public interests that cannot 
be perpetrated under it." While admitting that the mo- 



* Annual Message, 1865. t Inaugural, 18C3. % Ujid. § Ibid. 



JOEL PARKER. 17 

tive of the Executive might be pure he urged that there 
might be a radical error of judgment, and it was against 
the principle that he protested, " in the name of the peo- 
ple of a sovereign State."* In an address delivered at 
Freehold, in 1864, he said : 

No inmate of Fort Lafayette has been more violent in his denuncia- 
tions of the exercise of arbitrary power than are the able Chairmen of 
the Senate and House Committees on the rebellious States. And yet 
these very men, leaders in the respective houses of Congress, in com- 
mon with the majority of the dominant party, have upheld the Exec- 
utive in repeated encroachments on the rights of the people, more 
dangerous in their character than those of which they complain. Cit- 
izens have been violently dragged from their houses without warrant, 
without the semblance of a trial, merely at the whim of some Secretary 
— ^the ringing of his little bell — and for long weary months have been 
confined in the damp cell of a prison, and at length discharged with- 
out so much as being informed of the nature of the accusation, or even 
of the ground of suspicion against them. This has been done in com- 
munities far removed from the seat of war, in States where no armed 
rebel had ever set his foot, where the courts were open, and where the 
laws were faithfully and impartially administered by pure and learned 
judges. And this has occurred in the nineteenth century, under what 
is called a republican government, in a land whiere there is a written 
constitution, and among a people sprung from an ancestry who for 
centuries contended against kingly power, and at last secured in Magna 
Charta the liberty of the people .f 

And on another occasion he said : 

Vest in one man the discretion when he will suspend the privilege 
of the writ of habeas corpus in any part of the country ; give him au- 
thority to silence the courts and render the civil law powerless ; then 
place the army and navy at his command to carry his mandates into 
execution, and you constitute a ruler clothed with kingly powers more 
absolute than those possessed by any monarch who has ruled in Eng- 
land since Magna Charta.X 

At the close of his first term of office he was able to 
boast, with truthfulness, that not a single right of the 
State had been yielded, and not one of her citizens during 
his administration had been deprived of his liberty with- 
out due process of law.§ 

* Inaugural, 1863. t Monmouth Democrat, Aug. 2.'i, 1864. 
X Inaugural, 1872. § Annual Message, 1866. 



18 MEMORIAL OF 

A FIRM SUPPORTER OF STATE RIGHTS. 

Governor Parker was a strong adherent to the doctrine 
of State Rights. He maintained that the sovereignty of 
a State is as complete and real in its proper sphere as is 
the sovereignty of the United States within its sphere, 
but he referred cases of doubt or controversy as to the 
extent of those powers to the supreme legal tribunal pro- 
vided for their adjudication, and insisted that in defining 
them the Constitution of the United States must be our 
guide. And this not only in times of peace — the reserved 
rights of the States and the rights of the people were to 
be protected at all times, and especially in times of discord 
and angry strife, when passion often rules the hour, and 
power is prone to encroach on law. At the same time 
he denounced the doctrine of secession as a political 
heresy, at variance with the letter and spirit of the Con- 
stitution.* And again, referring to the growing disposi- 
tion to ignore the political existence of the States, to treat 
them as subordinate to the Federal Government, and to 
centralize power in the President and Congress, he said : 

The time has come when all who value the institutions established 
through trial and privation by the wisdom of our ancestors, and who 
cherish the principles on which our government is reared, should for- 
get minor differences of opinion, and unite in opposing the progress of 
this dangerous doctrine. "Whenever the reserved rights of the States 
are encroached upon, the citizens of every State are interested, and 
should remonstrate without waiting the execution of the impending 
unconstitutional laws.f 

The States have rights which should be firmly maintained, but it has 
been settled for all time that to secede from the Union at pleasure, 
without the consent of the other States, is not a right.t 

As an instance of his firm adherence to this principle, 
at a period in our nation's history when strong men 
quailed and sought by silence to avoid the storm, his con- 
troversy, since famous, with Secretary of War Stanton, is 
referred to. In March, 1864, at the Jersey City depot, 
a soldier attached to a Massachusetts regiment shot and 



* Inaugural, 1872. t Ibid. 1 Annual Message, 1874. 



JOEL PARKER. 19 

wounded a youth. The yonii^^ man died. The soldier was 
arrested by the civil authorities, committed to jail, and 
indicted by the Hudson county court. Before the trial 
came on Secretary Stanton wrote to Governor Parker 
requesting him to order the delivery of the prisoner into 
the custody of the Ignited States military authorities, add- 
ing : " It is not supposed the Governor will decline this 
request, but should he do so it will be the duty of the 
department to urge it," and claiming that Governors of 
other States had not hesitated to comply with similar 
requests. Governor Parker replied at length to this 
communication, taking the ground that the Executive 
and Judicial branches of the government were distinct 
and independent, and that he had no right to interfere 
in the case. That the decision of the court that it had 
jurisdiction must stand until reversed by its own action 
or by the action of some competent tribunal of review,, 
and concluding with the words : " I respectfully decline 
to order the prisoner remitted to the military author- 
ities."* The request of the Secretary of War was not 
renewed, and so the time-honored doctrine of the fethers 
was maintained by Kew Jersey, and the law had its due 
course. 

ARxMING THE NEGROES AND THE EMANCIPATION 
PROCLAxMATION. 

Governor Parker doubted the expediency of arming the 
Southern negroes. In a letter to a Township Committee 
in Hunterdon county he said he was satisiied that the 
Union army would then have been stronger, both in 
numbers and efiiciency, if the Government had never 
recruited in the rebel States. To insure success, he 
thought the people should be willing to do their own 
fighting, and not place reliance on a distinct and inferior 
race, while the Emancipation Proclamation and the con- 
sequent arming of the negroes added to the desperation 

* Legislative Documents, 1865. 



20 MEMORIAL OF 

of the enemy and tended to build up an almost insur- 
mountable barrier of terms to pacification, and at the 
same time quenched the spirit of volunteering in the 
North.* 

SOLDIERS VOTING IX THE FIELD. 

Under the Constitution of the State, as it then stood, 
(since amended), there was no provision for taking the 
votes of the soldiers in the field. The subject was dis- 
cussed at length by the Legislature and resolutions were 
adopted requesting the military authorities to permit the 
soldiers who were legal voters to visit their homes on days 
of election, so far as it could be done Avithont detriment 
to the service. In transmitting these resolutions to the 
President, Governor Parker expressed the wish that all 
!N^ew Jersey soldiers, witliout distinction of party, who 
could be spared, should be allowed to come home on elec- 
tion day, and especial reference was made to soldiers in 
hospitals who were able to travel. He also wrote to the 
State Agent requesting him to look after the soldiers 
about Washington and assist them in obtaining furloughs 
for this purpose. t 

EXEMPTION OF GOVERXMEXT BOXDS. 

Upon other public questions growing out of the war he 
was eqnally frank and outspoken. He objected to the 
exemption of Government bonds from taxation as unwise, 
because it tended to increase the riches of the wealth}' at 
the expense of the poorer classes, but the faith of the Gov- 
ernment having been pledged the agreement should be 
strictly adhered to ; at the same time he urged that the 
policy should be abandoned, and that new loans by the 
Government should be expressly subjected to State tax- 
ation at a rate equal to the assessment on other property. 
He also recommended the passage of an act by the Legis- 
lature taxing the shares of the capital stock of all Xational 
banks within the State. | 

* Legislative Documenis, 1865, p. 132. t Ibid. p. 1-18. 
I Auiiual Message, 1866. 



JOEL PARKER. 21 

AN ADMIRER AND FRIEND OF McCLELLAN. 

Governor Parker was a warm admirer and friend of 
General McClellan. He believed that his removal from 
the command of the army was instigated by civilians and 
politicians, and was a mistake upon the part of the mili- 
tary authorities. " This Jersey exile," he said, " will live 
in the hearts of his countrymen, and his memory will be 
cherished by mankind so long as the country to whose 
welfare he has devoted his life shall have a history."* 

HIS SUCCESSFUL FINANCIAL POLICY. 

His administration continued until after the close of 
the war. During his term of office not a single bond of 
the State was sold below par, while the premiums on 
them amounted to over $100,000, and at its close the State 
did not owe a dollar on civil account and had in its treas- 
ury an actual cash balance of over $164,000. f In his first 
annual message he recommended the passage of a law 
providing for the redemption and payment of .the bonds 
issued for the expenses of raising and equipping the State 
troops serving in the war, and outlined a plan for that 
purpose. The Legislature adopted the plan and recom- 
mendation, and created the fund known as the Sinking 
Fund, by which the entire war debt of the State, amount- 
ing to $3,000,000, has been practically paid off without 
resorting to a direct tax upon the people for that purpose, 
the fund now in hand being nearly or quite sufficient to 
meet the outstanding bonds as they fall due ; in addition 
the fund has paid in interest an amount exceeding the 
original debt. 

PROPOSED FOR THE NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. 

At the close of his first gubernatorial term Governor 
Parker at once resumed his professional practice. In 
1868, in the N^ational Democratic Convention at N'ew 
York, he received the unanimous vote of the JN'ew Jersey 



* Address at Freehold, 186-J. t Annual Message, 1866. 



22 MEMORIAL OF 

delegation for the Democratic nomination for President 
of the United States on every ballot. In 1876, he again 
received the same vote for the same position. In that 
year he was placed at the head of the electoral ticket and 
voted for Samuel J. Tilden. In 1884 he was again 
strongly urged as the Democratic Presidential candidate. 

RE-ELECTED GOVERNOR. 

In 1871, prior to the assembling of the Democratic 
State Convention, he positively declined to be a candidate 
for nomination for Governor, but the enthusiasm of that 
Convention compelled him to yield, and he was nomi- 
nated by acclamation, all the other candidates having 
been withdrawn by their friends. At the election which 
followed he was successful by about six thousand major- 
ity, which, although less than his majority in 1862, was 
yet a more decisive victory for him, in consideration of 
all the circumstances. At no time had the Republican 
party been so powerful as in that year, carrying every 
other Northern State by strong majorities. In that year, 
for the first time, colored men voted in I^ew Jersey, and 
that vote (about 7,000 strong) was cast solidly against 
Governor Parker, who ran about nine thousand ahead of 
his ticket, the other Democratic candidates being beaten 
by about three thousand votes. 

HIS SECOND TERM. 

His second term as Governor was conspicuously suc- 
cessful. The exciting questions which presented them- 
selves during his first term did not exist, but there were 
many topics of legislation which were important and ex- 
cited much interest. The statute books show that more 
laws were passed in 1872, '73 and '74 than ever before or 
since in the same length of time. It was under his ad- 
ministration that the General Kailroad Law (of which he 
was an advocate) was passed, and the constitutional 
amendments which brought about important reforms were 



JOEL PARKER. 23 

adopted. The National Guard was also, under his ad- 
ministration, brought to a high degree of efficiency. 

The same frankness that characterized his treatment of 
public questions during the excitement of the Civil War 
was apparent in his administration of civil affairs during 
his second term. 

THE LABOR QUESTION. 

Upon the Labor question just then coming into promi- 
nence he held that there should be no conflict between 
labor and capital ; that the interests of both could be so 
harmonized as to benefit both ; that the rights of capital 
should be protected, yet it was so powerfid that the watch- 
ful care of legislation was necessary to defend labor from 
its impositions. Among other things he recommended 
the abandonment of all class legislation as inimical to the 
interest of the laboring classes, and a rigid inquiry into 
the treatment of children in workshops and ftictories — 
their minds should not be left untutored, and the cupidi- 
ty of employers or the necessities of parents should not 
be permitted to overtax their energies.* 

MUNICIPAL BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. 

He earnestly opposed the system which had grown up 
during the war of governing cities by municipal boards 
or commissions appointed by the Legislature. Being ir- 
responsible to the people, they became a vast political 
machine, exercising a dangerous power beyond the bounds 
of their jurisdiction, and imposing burdens of taxation 
for the benefit of a favored few, without the consent of 
the people, and which they were powerless to resist. lie 
denounced it as the worst form of tyranny, and urged 
that the nearer the ballot-box we bring the responsibility 
of the officer, the better administration we Avould have, 

* Inaugural, 1872. 



24 MEMORIAL OF 

and that we should not be afraid to trust the people to 
govern themselves.* 

JURY COMMISSIONS. 

During the session of 1873 he vetoed a bill to take the 
power of selecting grand and petit jurors from the hands 
of the Sheriff of Hudson County and vest it in a com- 
mission of two persons, to be appointed by the Judges of 
the Court of Common Pleas. In this case Governor 
Parker said : 

If we have just and fair men to select and impanel our jurors, it 
makes but little difference, practically, by whom they are chosen, or 
whether they are called by the name of commissioner or sheriff. But 
suppose the officer entrusted with this delicate and important duty 
shall abuse his trust, and use his office for corrupt or selfish purposes, 
it is very important that the people get rid of him as soon as possible. 
The sheriff is elected annuallyf by a direct vote of the people, and if 
he prove unfit or unworthy, the position may be filled by another at 
the next election ; but an incompetent or corrupt commissioner, ap- 
pointed in the way this bill proposes, would be beyond the power of 
removal by the people. He may be retained as long as the major part 
of the Common Pleas Judges shall determine. The Judges themselves 
are independent of the people of the county, for they are appointed 
for five years by a body of representatives from every section of the 
State. I have no doubt that the framers of the law so long existing in 
this State, which allows the Sheriff to hold the office for three years, 
and yet requires his election every year, had in view this vital ques- 
tion, and intended that the people should not part with their control 
over the officer who had the selection of the jurors, to whom their 
dearest rights and privileges are committed. The trial by jury has 
justly been denominated the principal bulwark of the people's liber- 
ties. * * * I am not willing to affix my signature to a bill which, 
in efiect, if not in words, declares that the people of that county are 
incapable of self-government.J 

BRIBERY AT ELECTIONS. 

He held that l)ribery at elections imperilled the exist- 
ence of free governments, and that unless the elective 
franchise could be protected from corrupt influences our 
whole system would be destroyed. He denounced cor- 



* Inaugural, 1872. t The law in this respect has since been changed. 
X Legislative Documents, 1873. 



JOEL PARKER. 25 

ruption in office as the prevailing sin of the day, which 
had become a national reproach. Men whose characters 
in private life were above suspicion seemed to lose moral 
tone as soon as they obtained official position. They did 
not appear to realize the fact that peculation from the 
public treasury was infinitely worse than robbing from 
their neighbor's person, and a morbid public sentiment 
had grown up, especially among the young, that prevent- 
ed them from realizing the heinousness of official fraud, 
while a failure of public officials to duplicate their legal 
pay was by many considered as evidence of incapacity. 
The chief cause of the increase of corruption he attrib- 
uted to the fact that guilty persons when discovered were 
allowed to go unwhipped of justice, and it would not 
cease until the men who thus abused their trusts were 
compelled not only to disgorge their ill-gotten gains, but 
were dealt with as common felons. " He who robs the 
people of their treasure should certainly stand no better 
before the law, or in society, than the vagrant whom ne- 
cessity drives to crime. Equal justice should be adminis- 
tered to all, without regard to high position, respectable 
connections, aristocracy of birth and association, or ad- 
ventitious wealth."* 

" PUBLIC OFFICE A PUBLIC TRUST." 

Governor Parker was essentially a party man and 
neglected no opportunity to advance the interests of his 
party, yet his tirst consideration was always the public 
interests. In all of his appointments, military and civil, 
he carefully scrutinized the character and qualifications 
of the applicants for positions, and the fitness of the ap- 
pointee generally silenced the clamor of the friends of 
disappointed candidates. The distribution of official 
patronage is the rock upon which the popularity of the 
Executive is generally wrecked, and it is a noteworthy 
fact that Governor Parker retired at the close of both of 

* Inaugural, 1872. 



26 MEMORIAL OF 

his terms with his popularity unimpaired, and yet he 
made more appointments than any other man who has 
ever filled the Executive chair of our State. During his 
first term he made thousands of appointments and promo- 
tions in the !N'ew Jersey regiments in the field, and in not 
one of them was it ever charged that it was made for 
political reasons only. 

A FRIEND OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND REFORMATORIES. 

He was always a warm and earnest friend of our public 
school system, and neglected no opportunity to advance 
its interests and to commend it to the fostering care of 
the State. The schools became free at the opening of his 
second term as Governor, and in his Inaugural he recom- 
mended that whatever was required to keep them free 
should be done. He commended the appropriation of 
the rentals and sales of riparian rights to the school fund, 
and believed that if the fund thus created was wisely 
administered it would, in addition to the income of the 
fund from other sources, produce a sum sufficient to 
make the schools free forever, without taxation for that 
purpose.* 

He was also warmly interested in the reformation of 
youthful criminals, and urged that their incarceration in 
the State Prison, in contact with hardened offenders, pre- 
vented reformation. f In 1864 he appointed a commission 
in accordance with an act of the Legislature of that year, 
to inquire into the methods adopted by other States, and 
to report a S3'stem of reform adapted to our own State. 
In his message of 1865, referring to the report of this 
committee, he recommended the establishment of a Re- 
form School, out of which grew the present excellent 
institution under that name, and which has been the 
means of reclaiming and restoring to society, as useful 
members thereof, hundreds of youths who otherwise 
would have grown up in the ranks of the criminal classes. 

* Inaugural, 1S72. t Anuual Message, 1864. 



JOEL PARKER. 27 

FOR A NON-PARTISAN JUDICIARY. 

In the gubernatorial campaign of 1859 the leading 
issue in the State was the question of a non-partisan judi- 
ciary, growing out of a diiference between the Executive 
and the Senate on the appointment of a Chancellor dur- 
ing the Legislative session of that year, which left the 
office vacant and temporarily closed the Court. Mr. 
Parker took the ground that the people of New Jersey 
did not desire to have a change in the constitution of the 
Court with every change of the Executive. The Judi- 
ciary, he maintained, should be composed of competent 
and experienced men, the farthest removed from political 
bitterness ; that such offices should not be regarded as 
the property of a party, and that the only inquiry should 
be : " What is best for the interests of the public ?"* 
Subsequently, when he became Governor, he carried this 
principle out in practice and made his judicial appoint- 
ments from the ranks of both parties. Referring to the 
well-deserved reputation throughout the country of our 
courts of justice, he said : 

There is not on record a single decision of our courts open to the 
faintest suspicion of partisanship or corrupt influence. The importance 
of maintaining the high character of the Judiciary cannot be over-esti- 
mated. Where the fountain of justice becomes impure there cannot 
be good government. The property, liberty and lives of the people 
are in the hands of the courts. To insure respect for judicial decisions, 
there should not be even the appearance of partiality or bias. Should 
all the judges be of the same political organization, the usefulness of 
the court would be impaired, and in times of excitement its opinions 
be shorn of that degree of weight which should always accompany the 
administration of justice.f 

ENCOURAGED FOREIGN IMMIGRATION. 

He did not sympathize with the idea that foreign im- 
migration was injurious to the general interests or sub- 
versive of American institutions. On the other hand, he 
welcomed the industrious immigrant to assist in develop- 
ing the inexhaustible resources of the West and South. 

* Letter in Newark Eoening Journal, September 12, 1859. t Inaugural, 1872. 



28 MEMORIAL OF 

Our territory was capable of sustaining hundreds of mil- 
lions of prosperous and happy people, and every induce- 
ment should be held out to promote its settlement. 
" "Why wait a century for what may be accomplished in 
a generation ? Why delay our manifest destiny ? * * 
Welcome them to our shores. Bid them come and occu- 
py the land, build up the waste places and obliterate the 
ravages of war."* And again, after referring to the 
report of Prof. Geo. H. Cook,t that over a million acres 
of land in New Jersey, Avithin convenient distance of 
marl, were unimproved, and might be brought under 
cultivation with profitable result, he said : 

The time has come for the Legislature to inaugurate a system by 
means of which immigration shall be invited and encouraged. * * * 
With proper exertion, the sparsely settled districts so near the two 
great cities, possessing, in addition to the advantages already men- 
tioned, a salubrious climate, free schools and good laws administered 
by a learned and incorruptible judiciary, can soon be tilled with hon- 
est, hardy and industrious colonists. As population adds to the real 
wealth of a State, the subject is worthy the attention of the Legis- 
lature.J 

HOW HE EXERCISED THE VETO POWER. 

He did not hesitate to use the veto power whenever he 
deemed it to be necessary. Among the notable instances 
in which he exercised this prerogative were the vetoes of 
the bills repealing the law requiring joint resolutions to 
be submitted to the Governor for his approval ;§ creating 
a jury commission for Hudson County ;|| and extending 
the provisions of the act last named to Essex County.** 
All of these measures contained provisions which he con- 
sidered inimical to the interests of the people or subver- 
sive of the principles of good government. 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND JUDGE. 

After the expiration of his second term as Governor he 
resumed his professional business at Freehold, and soon 

* Inaugural, 1872. f Report of State Board of Agriculture, 1874. 

t Annual Message, 1874. g Legislative Documents, 1872. || Ibid, 1874. ** Ibid, 1874. 



JOEL PARKER. 29 

acquired a large practice. On the 27th of January, 1875, 
he was nominated by Governor Bedle as Attorney-Gen- 
eral of the State, and was confirmed by the Senate with- 
out reference. He held this position until the 5th of 
April following, when he resigned it in order to give 
exclusive attention to his private practice. In 1880 he 
was nominated by Governor McClellan and confirmed by 
the Senate as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, 
and was assigned to the Second Judicial District, com- 
prising the counties of Gloucester, Camden and Burling- 
ton, and was reappointed to the same position, on the 
expiration of his term, by Governor Green, in February 
of last year. 

In his judicial career, in all his relations to the Bar, and to its indi- 
vidual members, he was kind, considerate and courteous, and to his 
duties in this position he brought to bear the indefatigable industry 
which had characterized his efforts in other departments of the public 
service and in his private practice. As a judge he was painstaking, 
faithful, and sagacious. His strong common sense supplied his judg- 
ment with qualities which distinguished them as judicial deliverances.* 
He was always kind and courteous to the younger members of the 
Bar, and he would not allow any opponent to take unfair advantage 
of another to defeat the ends of justice, or allow the law to be made an 
engine of injustice for the oppression of any citizen. If there ever was 
a man who guarded the liberties of the people upon the Bench, that 
man was Judge Parker. Cases arising from spite, ill will, or anything 
of that kind, found no favor in his Court.f Other men have been 
more profound jurists — more eloquent as orators — more learned — more 
original — but with their every genius in these directions they have 
had a corresponding lack in some other quarter, and your man of pro- 
found learning has often been neglectful in affairs. Your brilliant 
orator, or even profound jurist, may be unworthy of the trusts that 
have been confided to him, but Judge Parker, possessing none of these 
qualities in an exalted degree, more than compensated for them by the 
profound balance of his character. Like such men as Hampden and 
Washington, he was valuable because of the sturdy reliability of his 
temperament, and for the earnestness and zeal with which he entered 
into the public service, rather than for any startling brilliancy in any 
one direction ; so that what we all instinctively recognize in him is not 
some quality or attainment which he happened to possess, but the 

* Mr. Samuel H. Grey's report to the meeting of the Camden Bar. 
t Mr. Seovel's address to the Camden Bar. 



30 MEMORIAL OF 

man himself, with hie evenly balanced qualities, which make him the 
type to our minde of all that goes to make up a thoroughly worthy 
man and the most admirable kind of citizen that any State can poa- 
sess* 

HIS DEVOTION TO DUTY. 

Devotion to duty was a ruling principle of his life. This 
trait in his character is well expressed in the following 
extract from Mr. Grey's address : 

It was Judge Parker's secret pride, expressed in confidential words 
to confidential friends, that while he held public office he exercised 
his power for the public good, to the best of his judgment. * * * 
This distinguishing characteristic — this faithfulness in the discharge of 
duty — this self-abnegation and devotion to public service, united with 
the amiable characteristics of his nature, made him during his life the 
most conspicuous of Jerseymen, and contributed at his death to that 
most touching and eloquent manifestation of public appreciation of his 
character at his funeral, when men from all walks of life — from posi- 
tions of responsibility — from active, engrossing and responsible pur- 
suits — all sorts and conditions of men gathered from all quarters of 
the State of New Jersey, at an inclement season, at an inaccessible 
place, to testify by their presence to the estimation in which this man 
was held by his fellow-citizens. Not because he was a Judge of the 
Supreme Court of the State, and as such had faithfully discharged his 
judicial duty ; not because he was a prominent member of a great po- 
litical organization, and as such had maintained for years successful 
leadership, but because in all his positions, many and responsible as 
they were — because in all his career, lengthened as it was — he had 
faithfullj'' discharged every duty and fully met every obligation which 
was put upon him. That lesson is one which he leaves behind.f 

PRIDE IN HIS NATIVE STATE. 

Joel Parker was essentially a Jersey man. He was 
proud of his native State and entertained a profound 
admiration for its history-. One of his earlier literary 
eflbrts was the preparation of a lecture on " The Early 
History ofiSTew Jersey," which he delivered in various 
parts of the State with great acceptability. When he 
delivered it at Trenton, according to a notice at the time 
in one of the daily newspapers of that city,| his audience 
rewarded him at the close " with a vote of thanks and 



* Mr. Charles G. Garrison's address to the Camden Bar. 

+ Samuel H. Grey's address to the Camden Bar. t State Gazette, March 3, 1859. 



JOEL PARKER. 31 

three hearty cheers," the latter certainly a novelty in con- 
nection with a purely literary eesa}^, but showing conclu- 
sively the spirit that pervaded it and the inspiration that 
was communicated by its delivery. This innate State 
pride was apparent at all times, and was not to be sup- 
pressed even in his State papers. At the conclusion of 
one of his annual messages* he uses the following elo- 
quent language, which cannot fail to find a response in 
the heart of every true Jerseyman : 

The State for which you legislate occupies a proud position. In 
every emergency she has proved true to her revolutionary fame. In 
every war in which the country has been engaged, New Jersey has 
contributed freely of her treasure and her sons. Her people are pa- 
triotic and conservative, and eminently national. They have always 
been willing to stand by the contract as our fathers made it. They 
have always observ^ed the constitutional rights of other States and of 
the nation. They love the Union and will labor for its preservation 
as the first great object to be accomplished. 

And again, at the close of an address delivered at 
Freehold, he said : 

I am proud of this gallant little State of New Jersey, and would not 
to-night exchange my position as her Chief Magistrate for the crown 
of the most powerful kingdom of the old world.f 

He always warmly resented any indignity aimed at the 
State. During the war a bill was introduced in Congress, 
under the power of the general government to create post 
routes and military roads, to confer upon certain railroads 
in New Jersey certain privileges for the transportation of 
goods and merchandise, in defiance of the laws of the 
State. Governor Parker at once sent a message to the 
Legislature % reciting the facts, and concluding as follows : 

The passage of such an act (although of no binding force, because 
unconstitutional), would be an insult to the people of New Jersey. 
It would take the creatures of our law, now under the ban of judicial 
injunction for violation of our statutes, and, in direct opposition to 
the decision of our courts, attempt to make them independent of and 
superior to the power that created them. Such action deserves, and 
should receive, the strongest legislative remonstrance. Let it be dis- 

* Annual Message, 1864. 

t Monmouth Democrat, August 25, 1864. % Special Message, March 2.3, 1864. 



32 MEMORIAL OF 

tinctly understood by those who would inflict this wrong and indig- 
nity upon our State, that while New Jersey will comply with every 
legal obligation, and will respect and protect the rights of all, she will 
not permit any infringement of her rights without resorting to every 
lawful means to prevent it. 

FAITH IN THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY. 

He also loved his country, was proud of its history, and 
had an abiding faith in its future. Upon this point, and 
referring to the second centennial of its historj^, he said : 

At the rate of increase that has marked her progress in the past, she 
will at the close of the next century contain a population of hundreds 
of millions. As the leading power of the West, she will announce and 
maintain the policy that should control America. That policy will 
surely be annexation to herself or the maintenance of republican gov- 
ernment in all the countries and islands of this hemisphere. The op- 
pressed people of every clime, especially those in her own vicinage 
struggling for independence, will have her sympathy and recognition. 
Barbarities which disgrace humanity and shock the civilized world 
will no longer be tolerated. The shackles of the slave will be broken 
wherever her policy extends. And this, the American policy of the 
second century of the existence of the nation, will be upheld by her — 
not for the purpose of aggrandizement — not for the sake of exercising 
arbitrary force — not from motives of ambition that would delight in 
agitation or conflict of arms — but as a duty imposed by the Supreme 
Ruler of the Universe on this the great Power of the Western Hemi- 
sphere, to elevate humanity therein and diffuse the blessings of liberty 
and Christian civilization.* 

AS A POLITICIAN. 

" He was a politician not in the low sense in which men 
may be politicians, but in the higher and more exalted 
sense in which a man as a member of the community acts 
in the interests of his fellow-citizens for the welfare and 
weal of the State. In whatever position we find him, 
whether in the Legislature, as Governor, as Attorney- 
General or as Judge, we find him always governed by a 
desire to do right. His views were not circumscribed by 
narrow limits — he saw the whole State and its conditions 
at a glance. His finger was naturally upon the public 
pulse, and his discernment enabled him instinctively to 



* Annual Message, 1874. 



JOEL PARKER, 33 

anticipate the public necessities. As Governor of the 
State he exhibited in a peculiar way the patriotic instincts 
of his nature. There was no disloyalty in his composi- 
tion."* " His public life and doings constitute the most 
important part of the history of our State for the last 
quarter of a century. His support came from the people ; 
he was of them and he preferred them. He boasted of 
his yeoman ancestry. The greatness he desired was the 
greatness which industry and merit gives. He preferred 
to be the first of a respected house, rather than the second, 
living on the prestige of a borrowed light."t 

AS A LAWYER. 

" As a lawyer he was not disposed to technicalities, nor 
was he dogmatic or pertinacious. His chief desire seemed 
to be to try a case upon its merits, and he tried and 
argued it with all due respect to the court and the 
counsel."! 

HIS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ECONOMy. 

A prominent trait of his character was his economy, 
which was exhibited in his public as well as in his private 
aifairs. It was not a miserly econoni}^ that would deny 
proper and liberal expenditures, but one that guarded 
carefully against wastefulness or extravagance. In his 
personal aifairs he at all times maintained his family in a 
style according well with his means and the place that 
he filled. After he became Governor he rebuilt the 
family mansion with the proceeds of the iidieritance from 
his father's estate, making it the largest and most impos- 
ing one in the town, and furnished it in a style consistent 
with its exterior. In it he entertained his guests in a 
manner befitting his station. He felt his importance as 
Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth of which he was 
so proud, and magnified his position in all his surround- 
ings. " He was every inch the Governor," whether at 

* Mr. Philip S. Scovel's remarks at the meeting of the Camden Bar. 
t Mr. John W. Wartman's remarks at the meeting of the Camden Bar. 
X Mr. Philip S. Scovel at the meeting of the Camden Bar. 



34 MEMORIAL OF 

home or abroad, but never in an oiFensive sense, for the 
people everywhere appeared to be as proud of him as he 
was of the office which he so nobly filled. In his first 
inaugural he outlined his views on public economy, and 
to these he adhered throughout his public career. He 
said on that occasion : 

In conducting the operations of our State Government, the strictest 
economy should be exercised. This is especially important at a time 
when we are subjected to extraordinary expenses in consequence of 
the deplorable civil war in which we are involved. In the midst of 
business depression and financial derangement and in view of increas- 
ing taxation, unnecessary expenditure of the people's money should 
be scrupulously avoided. Extravagant appropriations by government 
not only fasten heavy burthens on the people, but tend to corrupt pub- 
lic morals and increase private profligacy. 

At another time, referring to the enormous expenditures 
incident to the Civil War, he said the people seemed to 
have lost a proper appreciation of the value of money, 
and to have become careless of its use — that the economy 
of former times was now by many considered parsimony. 
The extravagance in both public and private life, entailed 
by the war, was a greater burden than the public debt, 
and while he held that every dollar of the latter, principal 
and interest, must be paid, he urged that IsTew Jersey, in 
its legislation involving appropriations of the public mon- 
ey, should be foremost in rescuing the country from the 
new danger with which it was threatened.* 

AS A LEADER IN HIS TOWN AND COUNTY. 

He always took a warm interest in the public enter- 
prises of his town and county, and promoted them by 
every means at his command. During all the earlier 
years of his active life he was looked up to as the leader, 
his well-known perseverance and energy giving promise 
of success to every movement to which he lent his aid. 
Among the prominent enterprises in which he was active- 
ly engaged were the construction of the railroad between 
Freehold and Jamesburg, which was first opened to the 

* Inaugural, 1872. 



JOEL PARKER. 35 

public in 1853 ; the County Agricultural Society, of which 
he was the founder, in the same year, and the Battle 
Monument, w^hich he originated. Of the success of these 
enterprises and of his association with them he was always 
proud. The latter was the crowning enterprise of his life, 
into which he entered with all the zeal of his nature. 
The beautiful shaft which now marks the spot where the 
first engagement of that memorable day took place, is 
alike a monument to the fame of our revolutionary fathers 
and to the patriotism and energy of the man who was 
before all others instrumental in its erection, and forever 
links his name with those of the heroes of the Revolution. 

HOW HE BUILT THE BATTLE-MONUMENT. 

This enterprise was first publicly broached by Governor 
Parker in an address at a local anniversary in Freehold, 
in the summer of 1877, and at the same time he suggested 
the action which resulted in the organization, three 
months later, of an association of which he was made 
President, having for its object the solicitation of funds 
for the erection of the monument. During the three 
years that ensued he gave much of his time to the work, 
sometimes under circumstances of the greatest discour- 
agement. He organized committees of ladies and gentle- 
men in every township in Monmouth, delivered adch'esses 
on every available occasion, personally superintended 
fairs, festivals, lectures, and other public entertainments 
for the purpose of raising funds, and even eidisted the 
school-children throughout the county in the work. He 
aimed to secure $10,000 by private subscription, and as a 
last resort to bring up the deficiency of this sum, he went 
among wealthy persons of his acquaintance outside of his 
county and State and levied contributions. Having 
secured this amount he next made an appeal to the Legis- 
lature and then to the Congress of the United] States, in 
both of which he was successful. The corner-stone of the 
monument was laid, with imposing civil and military 



36 MEMORIAL OF 

ceremonies, on the centennial anniversary of the battle, 
in the presence of Governor McClellan and many dis- 
tinguished guests. The monument was completed, and 
the unveiling ceremonies, which exceeded in extent and 
pageantry that of any other public occasion hitherto held 
in the State, took place on the 13th of I^^ovember, 1884, 
in the presence of Governor Abbett and a great concourse 
of public officials, civil and military organizations, and 
invited guests.* 

HIS SOCIAL RELATIONS, MARRIAGE AND DEATH. 

Although his long and busy life was crowded with 
great public cares, he did not forget the minor public 
duties nor the obligations of social life. He was one of 
the original members of the lodge of Odd Fellows of his 
town and always retained an interest in its welfare ; in 
his earlier years he took an active part in its affairs, filling 
the different official positions and representing it in the 
State Grand Lodge. He was also a member of the Ma- 
sonic lodge of his town. In both of these organizations 
he remained an honored member up to the time of his 
death. He was for many years a member of the Union 
Fire Company of Trenton, and of the Fire Department of 
Freehold, aiding both with his counsels and his purse. 
He was also a member of the Commandery of the State 
of Pennsylvania of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion 
of the United States ; a member of the Tammany Society 
of New York City, and an honorary member of the 
Society of the Cincinnati of the State of New Jersey. In 
1881 he united with the Presbyterian Church of Freehold, 
on confession of faith, and afterward remained an accept- 
able member and communicant of that church. In 1843 
he was married to Maria M., eldest daughter of Samuel 
R. Gummere, Clerk in Chancery of New Jersey, who 
survives him, with two sons, Charles and Frederick, both 
practicing lawyers of some years' standing at the Bar of 



* See Memorial of Committee of Arrangements, 1885. 



JOEL PARKER. o7 

Monmouth CouiitA', and ii daughter, Bessie, immarried. 
On Saturday, the 31st day of December, 1887, after liold- 
ing a special session of the Burlington County Courts, he 
went to Philadelphia, and feeling unwell he called at the 
house of a friend, where, in a few minutes, he received a 
stroke of paralysis. He died on the following Monday, 
shortly after midnight, surrounded by the immediate 
members of his family. He rallied sufficiently on Satur- 
day evening to recognize his wife, but afterward never 
regained consciousness. 

PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 

His personal appearance was imposing. He was slightlj 
over six feet high, with a massive frame admirably pro- 
portioned, a head well poised, manly and dignified in his-- 
bearing, easy and attractive in his manner ; in public free 
and self-possessed, easily approached by the humblest 
member of the community, but never condescending to- 
unseemly familiarity. He was persistent in the pursuit 
of the object in which he was interested, and in support 
of the cause which he had espoused ; never domineering, 
but persuasive and conciliating ; avoiding personal antag- 
onisms he skilfully laid his course between contending 
factions and reached the goal while others were wrangling 
by the way. Conservative in all his views and sometimes 
considered so almost to a fault, he was always a safe lead- 
er in public aflairs and reliable as a personal adviser. 



Joel Parker was, beyond dispute, the foremost man of 
his generation in his town and county, and in his State, 
in all those qualities that go to make a man useful to and 
beloved by his fellow-men. He enjoyed, as no other man 
of his day, the entire confidence of the people at large, 
without respect to party lines. In his public life, and in 
the administration of public affiiirs, he fully justified this 
regard, and no act of his can be adduced that is not i»i 



1 



38 3IEM0IUAL OF 

entire liarmoiiy with his professions of public duty. In 
his private life he was pure and above reproach. He had 
the imperfections common to humanity, l)ut none that 
lessened him in the estimation of honorable men. He 
was industrious in his private calling, and in the dis- 
charge of his public duties. He labored hard during the 
whole of his long life, rising early and sitting up late. 
Few men of his day, professional or other, worketl more 
hours or endured more fatigue than he, and to this fact, 
as much as to the qualities of his head and heart, is his 
success in life to be largely attributed. He was not 
wealthy, but he always gave liberally according to his 
means to public enterprises and public and private chari- 
ties. Of a sympathetic nature, his heart and his purse 
were ever open to relieve the distresses of the deserving 
poor, and it may truly be said of him that he never turned 
any empty away. He filled a large place in the affections 
of the people, who recognized him as their friend, and in 
the affairs of the public, and in this regard he will have 
no successor in this generation. He had fully rounded 
out his life, and the messenger of death found him at hia 
post, at work almost to the last moment of his existence. 
He was not a brilliant man, as the world reckons it, but 
lie was a great man, broad, liberal, conscientious, faithful 
and true, and so he will be rated on the pages of history 
in the generations to come. 

" Strong, 'mid the perils that beset his time, 
Strong, in the chair of State he honored long, 
Strong, in devotion to his home and friends. 
Wherever fortune found or placed him, strong. 

" Kind, with a kindness words cannot express, 
Kind, with a sweetness born of noble mind, 
Kind, let the tear-drop pathos started, speak ; 
To 5'outh and age, to poor and sorrowing, kind. 

" Great, in the virtues that adorned his life, 
Great, in the annals of his native State, 
Great, in his fearless championship of right. 
In every trust and station, truly great." * 

* Frank P. McDermott, Freehold, in the Monmouth Democrat, Jan. 12, 18S8. 



JOEL PARKER. 39 

When he died his fellow citizens throughout the State 
— all ranks and conditions of men — alike pressed forward 
to lay their tribute of afiection and regard upon his bier. 
The Governor issued a proclamation reciting the eminent 
services he had rendered the State, and caused public 
honors to be paid to his memory ; the business of the 
courts was suspended while eulogies were pronounced 
and resolutions of respect and condolence were placed 
upon their records ; organizations, public and social, vied 
with each other in manifestations of friendship and es- 
teem, and the press united in one common expression of 
high appreciation of his life and public services. 

And so we committed his body to the dust, and com- 
mended his soul to God who o-ave it. 



ADDENDA. 



Since tlie pul)licatioii of tlie foregoing sketch attention 
has been called to the address delivered by Governor Par- 
ker on the 6th of March, 1873, on the occasion of the 
presentation to the State of the old Battle Flags of the 
Kew Jersej' Regiments. It is here presented, copied from 
the report in the Trenton True American of the day follow- 
ing its delivery, to further illnstrate the views sustained 
by him on the questions involved in the war : 

SPEECH ON THE PRESENTATION OF THE OLD BATTLE-FLAGS. 

Veterans of the Grand Annif of tJie Repuhlic: — The eloquent orator* who 
has just addressed you related the circumstances under which these 
flags were sent to this State, and it may be well to further notice the 
fact. 

At the close of the war I had the honor to occujiy the Executive 
Chair of the State of New Jersey, and hearing that these flags, which 
had been borne through so many hard-fought battles, were about 
being put in charge of the United States authorities, and thinking that 
they might be deposited at the Capitol, where few Jerseymen would 
have opportunity to see them, I thought it proper to request that these 
New Jersey memorials of the battle fields might be given into the cus- 
tody of the State. This request, so reasonable, was readily complied 
with, and the flags, with others, were placed in the charge of the Quar- 
termaster General of the State. About two years since the Legislature 
of the State passed a resolution requiring that they should, be kept in 
the State Cajiitol ; but since that time, in consequence of the unsettled 
condition of the building, there has been no suitable place to keei) 
them. A room has now, however, been prepared, in which they will 
in future be kept. 

I receive from you these colors, and, in conformity with the ex- 
pressed wish of the Legislature, will deposit them in the Capitol, 
there to remain in the custody of the State. 

In looking upon these torn and discolored flags, the question natu- 
rally arises, why are they deemed so precious? Why have they been 
made the subject of othcial correspondence between the National and 

* John Y. Foster, Esq., of Newark. 



42 MEMORIAL OF 

State governments ? Why has their preservation been provided for 
by legislative action ? Why have they been brought here to-day in 
the hands of veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, in the pres- 
ence of a vast concourse of citizens, and accompanied bj' a grand mili- 
tary escort? Is it because the material of which they are made is rare 
and costly ? The bullet scarred stalls and stained shreds of silk, in 
themselves of little intrinsic worth, are all that remain. Is it because 
of any practical use to which they might hereafter be put in active 
service ? They are so frail that if unfolded the gentlest breeze would 
scatter their fragments. What then gives them a priceless value ? It 
is because of the memories and associations that cluster around them. 
To you, soldiers of the late war, they recall the scenes through which 
you passed. They remind you of the time, when in their brightness 
and beauty, you received them from the State, and of the vows you 
then solemnly made to guard and protect them, and to bring them 
back, not in dishonor, but with victory emblazoned on every fold. 
Through years of varied fortune they were your constant companions. 
To-day they speak to you of the joys and friendships of camp life, of 
the wearisome march, the shock of battle, the charge and the deadly 
assault. Where danger most threatened you advanced your stand- 
ards and bore them proudly aloft ; where shot and shell fell thickest, 
you rallied around them ; they guided you over the field of carnage, 
and on them the eyes of your fallen comrades instinctively turned 
their dying gaze as you hurried past. Who can wonder, then, that to 
you these flags are of peculiar interest ? But chiefly are they precious 
to you, and to all of us, because they are the emblems of our nation- 
ality — the symbols of governmental power. Mute though they be, 
they speak to us in language more forcible than human utterance. 
Each rent and shred of these tattered banners has a voice which to- 
day says to us, and to all men, " although it cost privation and suffer- 
ing, exposure and even death itself, come what may, this government 
must be maintained in its integrity, whether its assailants come from 
without or within ; though millions of lives and billions of treasure be 
the sacrifice, the Union shall be preserved." 

Soldiers of New Jersey, your deeds of noble daring are still fresh in 
memory. These banners borne by you, who here represent the rem- 
nant of the eighty thousand men whom New Jersey sent to the field, 
testify that you, and such as you, in the hour of the country's peril, 
left the endearments and comforts of home and bared your bosoms to 
the storm of battle, that our free institutions might be maintained and 
the nation might live. 

In the name of the people, I thank you, and, through you, your 
absent comrades, for the imperishable honor reflected on the State by 
your patriotism and valor in that dark hour. 

In closing these interesting ceremonies we must not forget those 
who, with high hope and patriotic impulse, went forth with you but 



JOEL PARKER. 43 

did not return ; those wlio for a time with you followed these flags, 
but fell by your side, sacrificing their lives for their country. A 
grateful people will ever cherish their memory. 

In the name of the State of New Jersey, I now take these memorials 
of valiant deeds, and will deposit them in the place set apart for their 
reception, where, in accordance with the resolutions of the Legisla- 
ture, they will be tenderly cared for, and where they will remain the 
objects of gratitude and reverence of future generations. 



It should have been mentioned in the biography of Governor Par- 
ker that the Honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred on 
him by the Trustees of Rutgers College, June 18, 1872. 



MORTUARY. 



MORTUARY. 



DEATH OF JOEL PARKER. 

Joel Parker, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court 
and ex-Governor of New Jersey, died at Philadelphia on 
Monda}' morning, January 2, 1888. On the previous 
Saturday he held a special session of the Burlington 
County Courts, and after dinner went to Camden, and 
thence, after transacting some business, to Philadelphia. 
At 4.30 o'clock in the afternoon, while calling at the resi- 
dence of a friend, Mrs. Cecilia Root, 1019 Mount Vernon 
street, he was taken suddenly ill, and Dr. E. C. Bailey 
was called in. He found that the Governor was suffering 
from an attack of paralysis. He was very anxious to re- 
turn to his home, but the attending physician found that 
it was impossible. The family were immediately sum- 
moned from Burlington, where they were residing for the 
winter, and Mrs. Parker and his niece. Miss Redmond, 
reached his bedside about 11 o'clock the same evening. 
He rallied sufficiently to recognize Mrs. Parker, but failed 
to recognize Miss Redmond, and soon relapsed into un- 
consciousness. Doctors D. Hayes Agnew and James R. 
Tyson were called in as consulting physicians, but they 
quickly decided that there were no hopes of his recovery. 
His sons, Charles and Frederick, reached the city during 
Sunday, and they, with their mother, were at his bedside 
when he died, which was at about 12.30 o'clock, A. M., 
on Monday. He never regained consciousness after 
recognizing Mrs. Parker. 

MEETING OF THE CITIZENS OF FREEHOLD. 

Pursuant to invitation of Mayor Forman, the citizens 
of Freehold assembled at the Court House, at 8 o'clock 



48 MEMORIAL OF 

on Monday evening, January 2, to take action upon the 
death of their fellow townsman, ex-Governor Parker. 

Major Yard called the meeting to order and nominated 
Maj'or Forman for Chairman, who was unanimously 
elected, and Major Yard was in like manner elected 
Secretary. 

Upon taking the chair Mayor Forman formally an- 
nounced the death of ex-Governor Parker, and stated that 
considering his eminent public services, which reflected 
honor upon his town, he had deemed it proper to call the 
citizens together to counsel upon the matter and to take 
such measures as they might deem proper. 

Frank P. McDermott, Esq., stated that he had learned 
from a member of the family that the funeral would take 
place on Friday. 

Major Yard moved that a committee of three be ap- 
pointed to draft resolutions expressive of the sentiments 
of our people on this occasion, and report the same at an 
adjourned meeting, to be held on Wednesday evening. 
The motion was adopted and Messrs. H. W. Murphy, F. 
P. McDermott and John B. Conover, were appoint- 
ed. Subsequently, on motion of Surrogate Crater, 
Major James S. Yard and Judge Charles A. Bennett 
were added to the committee. 

On motion, it Avas resolved that the chairman appoint 
a committee of twenty-five citizens as a committee of 
arrangements, of which he shall be chairman, to co-oper- 
ate with the ftimily and the State authorities in regard to 
the funeral ceremonies, and also to take charge of the 
remains upon their arrival on Wednesday evening, and 
escort them to the residence of the family. 

Major Yard made brief remarks touching the life, char- 
acter and public services of ex-Governor Parker, with 
especial reference to his relations to the town and county. 

Lieutenant J. W. Hulse, speaking as Chief of the Fire 
Department and as an officer of the military company, 
said both organizations would l)e glad to co-operate with 



JOEL PARKER. 49 

tlie citizens in doing honor to the memory of our late 
distinguished fellow-citizen. 

Hon. William S. Throckmorton delivered a short but 
feeling and appreciative address, referring especially to 
the character of Gov. Parker in his social relations to our 
citizens, and said that all men who knew him desired to 
do him honor. In conclusion he moved that this meeting 
request that all business places in the town be closed dur- 
ing the time of the funeral obsequies. 

Mr. D. C. Perrine concurred in the motion of Mr. 
Throckmorton. 

Mr. J. T. Burtis said that it would also be proper to 
request our citizens to display emblems of mourning upon 
their residences and places of business, from this time 
until after the funeral. This amendment was accepted 
by Mr. Throckmorton, and then the motion as amended 
was adopted. 

On motion of Charles II. Butcher, Esq., the meeting 
then adjourned. 

Mayor Forman subsequently announced the following 
as the Committee of Arrangements : 

W. H. Forman, Chairman, 

A. Walker, Dr. I. S. Long, D. S. Crater, 

J. T. Burtis, A. C. Hart, Maxcy Applegate, 

W. B. DuRYEE, C. H. Butcher, T. W. Morris, 

D. C. Perrine, A. White, J. M. Ayres, 

D. D. Denise, E. T. Hartshorne, W.S.Throckmorton, 

John Enright, Charles Haight, J. B. Haviland, 

S. C. Cowart, Jos. T. Laird, John W. Hulse, 

John Bawden, Wm. Lloyd, C. Hartzheim, 

A. A. Yard, Theo. Sickles, G. C. Hulett. 

The committee met at Firemen's Hall at 8 o'clock on 
Tuesday evening, appointed several sub-committees and 
perfected their arrangements for the funeral ceremonies. 

On Wednesday evening the committee again met at 
Firemen's Hall. In the absence of Ma^'or Forman, Wm. 
H. Vredenburgh, Esq., presided, and after a short session 



50 MEMORIAL OF 

the committee proceeded in a body to the depot of the 
Pennsylvania Raih'oad, where they received the remains 
and escorted them to the family residence. A large con- 
course of citizens had also assembled and accompanied 
the committee in solemn procession. 

In order to reserve the hours on Friday morning before 
the funeral for persons from a distance, the j^eople of 
Freehold and vicinity, by invitation published in the 
newspapers, paid their respects to the remains of their 
fellow townsman on Thursday afternoon, between the 
hours of 1 and 5 P. M. 

In compliance with the request of the Committee of 
Arrangements the business places and the residences 
of the citizens of the town very generally displayed 
emblems of mourning ; some of them were quite 
elaborate, and most of them showed artistic taste and 
skill. Firemen's Hall, the Court House, the j)rinting 
offices, and a number of business places displayed flags at 
half-mast as soon as the news of Judge Parker's death 
was verified, and until after the funeral. The Court 
House, by direction of the committee of the Board of 
Chosen Freeholders, was very handsomely draped, the 
large columns in front being covered smooth with black 
muslin, and festoons of the same material were hung 
from the cornices across the front of the building and 
the porch, and from the window caps. 

THE FUNERAL SOLEMNITIES. 

The casket was covered with black broadcloth, and was 
lined Avith white corded silk ; the handles were of oxyd- 
ized silver. Everything was plain and unostentatious. 
At the head was a cross of white roses, immortelles, ivy, 
smilax and exotic grasses, presented by the Joel Parker 
Association ; at the foot was a wreath of white roses, 
smilax and immortelles, the gift of Senators McPherson 
and Blodgett, and Congressmen McAdoo and Pidcock. 

On the silver plate were engraved the words : " Joel 
Parker : Nov. 24, 1816, Jan. 2, 1888." 



JOEL PARKER. 51 

Surrounding the plate was a wreath of English ivy, the 
gift of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military 
Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. As he 
lay in the casket he looked as natural as if he had just 
fallen into a gentle sleep, from which he might awake at 
any moment. 

Contrary to the indications of the day before, Friday 
morning opened cold and cloudy, with a drizzling rain 
later in the forenoon. At an early hour people from the 
neighborliood began to come in carriages, and the early 
trains from the eastern part of the county came filled. 
At 9 o'clock the doors of the mansion were opened and 
the crowds assembled passed in, in file, to view the re- 
mains. Each arriving. train brought additional crowds to 
take a last farcAvell of the dead Governor. The great 
majority in attendance were personal friends and acquaint- 
ances, endeared to him by many loving ties and recollec- 
tions. Count was kept until over a thousand persons 
had passed in, but many were unable to gain admission by 
reason of the crowd and the lateness of the hour. 

About 10 o'clock Governor Green and staff and the 
State otficials arrived and went to their quarters at the 
American Hotel, after which they proceeded in a body to 
Governor Parker's residence, where they remained. 
Shortly after, the Joel Parker Association, of I^ewark, 
(seventy-five members), accompanied by Voss' Band and 
a number of citizens of I^ewark, arrived in a special train 
and went directly to the residence. About 10.30 o'clock 
the Bench and Bar Association and the county ofiicials of 
the Second Judicial District, (Burlington, Gloucester and 
Camden), over which Judge Parker presided, arrived, 
also in a special train. Members of the Bar were also 
present from several other counties. 

Shortly before 11 o'clock the doors were closed and 
after prayer by Kev. Samuel M. Hamill, D. B., the 
funeral procession was formed under the direction of 



52 BIEMORIAL OF 

Major James S. Yard, appointed by the Committee of 
Arrangements for that purpose, assisted by Theo. "W". 
Morris, Esq., Lieut. John W. Hulse and Maj. A. A. Yard, 
and the members of the Committee of Arrangements, in 
the following order : 

ORDER OF THE FUNERAL PROCESSION. 

Sexton and Undertaker. 

The Clergy. 

Physicians. 

County Officials. 

Town Officials. 

The Citizens Committee. 

The Monmouth Bar Association. 

Representatives of the Society of the Cincinnati of New Jersey. 

Representatives of J. W. Conover Post, G. A. R. 

Olive Branch Lodge No. 16, F. & A. M. 

Monmouth Lodge No. 20, I. 0. 0. F. 

Officers of Co. E., 7th Regiment N. G. of N. J. 

Freehold Fire Department. 

The Joel Parker Association of Newark. 



Pall Bearers. 
Ex-Chancellor Runyon,* 
Justice Depue, 
Justice Knapp, 
Justice Scudder, 



Pall Bearers 
Chancellor McGill,* 
Justice Dixon, 
Justice Reed, 
Justice Yansyckel, 



The Family and Relatives. 

The Governor and Staff. 

Ex-Governors. 

Major General Plume and Staff. 

Brigadier General Steele and Staff. 

Brigadier General Sewell and Staff. 

The Chancellors, ex-Chancellors, and Vice-Chancellors. 

Judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals. 

State Officials and Members of State Boards. 

XT. S. Senators and Members of the House of Representatives. 

Ex-Attorneys General. 

Members and ex-Members and Officers of the Senate and Assembly, 

Members of the Faculties of Princeton and Rutgers Colleges. 

County Officials and Bar of the Second Judicial District. 

Citizens and Visitors. 



* In place of Chief Justice Reaslcy ami Justice Magic, wlio were prevented by 
indisposition from being present. 



JOEL PARKER. 53 

Tlie casket was borne by eiglit colored men. 

There was some delay, occasioned by the great crowd 
of people who desired to look for the last time upon the 
face of the friend they had known so long and loved so 
well, and also by tlie non-arrival of some of the organiza- 
tions from a distance. The town-clock was striking 11 
when the funeral procession started, and the head of it 
had reached the church before all were in line. In fact, 
a double line — one in the street and another on the side- 
walk — almost covered the distance between the dwelling 
and the church, and it was 11.20 when the doors were 
opened and the head of the escort marched up the centre 
aisle. Here the arrangements were complete, and under 
the direction of the ushers appointed l)y the committee 
of citizens, the great throng was rapidly and quietly con- 
ducted to the places assigned to the several organizations, 
and seated. While this was being done, the organist, 
Mrs. J. B. Conover, played a voluntary on the organ. 
The ushers were S. C. Cowart, (chairman), John B. Con- 
over, F. B. Conover, F. P. McDermott, W. S. Throck- 
morton, C. H. Butcher, W. E. Truex, C. P. Pitman, Jos. 
A. Yard, H. A. Wheeler, D. Van Perrine, W. C. Harts- 
horne, G. D. Carson. 

FUNERAL SERVICES AT THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

Organ Voluntary — 

Maroia Fnnebre— ^ ^- Symphonie Erocia. \ „ , 
Mama luneDre ^2. Symphonie Sonata. J ^''"'^''^"• 
>S<:'r('):)^(!/re Reading by Bev. Henry G. Smith. 

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, 
concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, 
even as others which have no hope. 

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even 
so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 

I am the Resurrection, and the Life, saith the Lord : 
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall 
he live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall 
never die. 



54 MEMORIAL OF 

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is cer- 
tain that we can carry nothing out. 

The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; Bless- 
ed be the name of the Lord, 

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father 
is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their atflic- 
tion, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. 

For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of 
Christ ; that every one may receive the things done in 
his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be 
good or bad. 

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, 
Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from 
henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest 
from their labors; and their works do follow them. 

Anthem .-—''Boek of Af/es." Mask- hj Dudley Buck. 

Scripture Beading Coidumed. 

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no 
need that I write unto you. 

For yourselves know perfectly' that the day of the Lord 
so cometh as a thief in the night. 

For when they shall say. Peace and safety ; then sud- 
den destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a 
woman with child ; and they shall not escape. 

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day 
should overtake you as a thief. 

Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the 
day : we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others ; but let us 
watch and be sober. 

For they that sleep, sleep in the night ; and they that 
be drunken, are drunken in the night. 

But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the 
breast-plate of faith and love ; and for a helmet, the hope 
of salvation. 



JOEL PARKER. 55 

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain 
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 

Who died for us, that Avliether we wake or sleep, we 
should live together with Him. 

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one 
another, even as also ye do. 

Prayer by the jRer. Edward B. Hodge. 

God, thou art our refuge and strength, a very pres- 
ent help in trouble. We all do fade as a leaf, and our 
iniquities like the wind have taken us away. Thou alone 
art great. With Thee is no variableness, neither shadow 
of turning. From everlasting to everlasting Thou art 
God. Therefore are we come to put our trust under the 
covert of Thy wings. O Lord, rebuke us not in Thine 
anger, neither chasten us in Thy hot displeasure. Have 
mercy upon us, for we are weak. We are passing through 
the waters ; be Thou with us. We are going through 
the rivers ; let them not overflow us. We are walking 
through the fire ; let us not be burned ; neither let the 
flame kindle upon us. 

Oh, help. Lord, for the godlj- man ceaseth ; for the 
faithful fail from among the children of men. Be Thou 
always with us ; a husband to the widow and a father to 
the fatherless. Like as a father pitieth his children, so 
pity Thou us. Spare us, good Lord ; spare Thy people 
whom Thou hast redeemed with precious blood. 

O merciful and faithful High Priest, holy, harmless and 
undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher than the 
heavens, Thou who wast, in the days of Thy flesh on 
earth, compassed with infirmities, have mercy upon us. 
We crave Thy sj-mpathy ; we cast ourselves upon Thy 
care. We know that those that loved Thee here on earth 
are now, when absent from the body, present with Thee 
in heaven. But oh, how far away ! Hasten Thine ap- 
pearing. Remember Thy promise ; and, when Thou 



56 MEMORIAL OF 

comest, l)riiig witli Thee those that are now asleep in 
Thee. 

O God the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, look down from 
heaven in mercy and pity, and dispel the darkness of our 
distress ; endow us plentifully with Thy celestial gifts. 
Grant us submission to Thy holy will, and entire acquies- 
cence in Thy decree. Give us patience to bear our trial, 
wisdom to learn its lessons, grace to derive profit, cour- 
age to enter upon the difficulties of our changed situation, 
and strength to undertake and to bear all that is for us 
to do in our present circumstances. Grant lis Thyself, 
that we may never be lonely. May we walk with (iJod ; 
and thus, through Thy instrumentality, may our fellow- 
ship be with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. 

With these our prayers, which we offer for ourselves, 
we add our humble thanksgiving for the life of Thy ser- 
vant now taken to dwell with Thee. This man, God, 
has filled many posts of honor and trust among us ; he 
has maintained his integrity to the end ; and we are come 
to lay the tribute of praise at Thy feet. To Thy watchful 
providence, to Thy grace, directing and assisting him, he 
owes this peaceful and honored ending of an illustrious 
career. Thou wast with him in the day of trial and 
temptation. The virtues that crowned his character were 
Thy gifts ; his wisdom and his learning were from Thee. 
Justice and judgment he learned at Thy feet. 

merciful God, ever grant unto our country, we be- 
seech Thee, rulers that fear Thy name ; Avho shall make 
the laws under Thy guidance and conduct the execution 
thereof to Thy glory. In all times of danger and anxiety, 
we will not trust in horses nor in chariots, but we will 
remember Jehovah our God. We will rejoice in Thy 
salvation, and in the name of our God Ave will set up our 
banners. 

With Thy favor we beseech Thee to behold and bless 
Thy servants, the President of the United States ; the 
Governor of this Commonwealth ; the surviving Judges 



JOEL PARKER. 57 

of the Supreme Court; and all who fill offices of author- 
ity and trust. May they ever walk after Thy holy com- 
mandments ; ever acknowledge Thy supreme authority 
in all things, and decree righteous judgment. So shall 
we Thy people be evermore giving Thee thanks. We 
shall be happy in such a case. We shall be the happy 
people whose God is Jehovah. 

And now, to God the Father, God the Son, and God 
the Holy Ghost, be ascribed, as is most justly due, all 
might and majesty, dominion and power, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord and Redeemer. Amen. 

Oration by Rev. Frank Chandler, B.J). 

One might well dread to break the silence ot your 
thought and grief to-day. The gathering of this vast 
assembly from all parts of the State and from all ranks of 
social life, your tears and sorrow, are a tril)ute to the 
worth of our departed friend more eloquent than any 
words of mine can be. Yet we should dishonor ourselves, 
deprive ourselves of a mournful solace, and somewhat 
limit the usefulness of a valued life, did we not gather 
around this coffin and give some utterance to the senti- 
ments which move all our hearts. 

Joel Parker was born of noble ancestry, upon his fath- 
er's farm, near Freehold, in the year 1816. lie had the 
advantages of an earlj^ education. He graduated from 
Princeton College with the class of 1839, studied law at 
Trenton in the office of Hon. H. W. Green, was admitted 
to practice in 1842, and settled in Freehold. He married 
Miss Gummere, of Burlington, in 1843, and here we may 
reverently quote the words of King Lemuel, "The proph- 
ecy that his mother taught him : The heart of her hus- 
band did safely trust in her, so that he had no need of 
spoil. She did him good and not evil all the days of his 
life." He w^as sent to the Assembly in 1847, the young- 
est member of that body and one of the most influential. 
He was made Prosecutor of the Pleas of Monmouth 



58 MEMORIAL OF 

county ; Brigadier and Major General of the State Militia. 
He was twice Governor of the State, elected by a large 
majority of his fellow-citizens. He was Presidential 
Elector and twice named by the Electors of this State, as 
their choice for the Chief Magistracy of the United States, 
an office Avhich those who knew him best, believed he 
would have honorably filled. He was appointed Attor- 
ney General of the State, and Associate Justice of the 
Supreme Court, in which latter office of dignity and trust 
he honorabl}' discharged his duty until the day of his 
death. With these facts of his life you are all famiHar. 
They are published widely in the newspapers and will be 
preserved among the records of the State. 

It is fitting, on this occasion, that our attention should 
be drawn to the elements of his character and the inci- 
dents of his distinguished career, which contain the lessons 
of the hour for our instruction and comfort. 

Governor Parker was a man physically strong and of 
commanding presence, which enabled him to endure 
fatigue and to impress those with whom he came in con- 
tact as one in some respect their superior. Yet the con- 
descension of his manner and the kindness of his heart 
made approach to him easy, even by the most humble. 
If he ever ap}>eared In'uscpie or distant, it was only be- 
cause his mind in active life Avas greatly pre-occupied or 
because the inner feeling of his heart tailed to find ex- 
pression. He was genial and kind in his nature, with a 
pleasing touch of gentle humor, and a story of human 
sorrow always found its way straight to his heart. He 
had the simplicity of cliildliood. There was a frankness 
and tenderness of spirit with him which was a most 
charming characteristic of his life. He loved the little 
ones. As he sat upon the front piazza of his residence in 
the summer months of his vacation in later years, he 
would call the young children of the neighborhood to 
him and engage them in conversation. Last Fall an acci- 
dent befell him, on liis returning home by a railroad train, 



JOEL PARKER. 59 

and as he entered his house lame and suffering, his little 
grand-daughter followed him to the stairs and he said 
caressingly, " It would have been a bad thing for Helen 
if anything serious had happened to grandfather.'' It is 
one of the pleasing memories to his family that the last 
Christmas night of his life he was engaged, in the home 
of one of his relatives, with the dear little children in 
their innocent amusement, himself the greatest child of 
them all, delighting them and himself in their sports. 

He was a man distinguished for his good judgment. 
If his mind seemed to work slowly at times, it was be- 
cause of his habit to become possessed of all the facts and 
circumstances, and give them due consideration before 
recording an opinion. He was naturally cautious, con- 
servative and modest, but Avhen he had deliberated and 
formed a judgment, it was in most cases eminentlj^ wise 
and safe to follow him. This peculiarity made him a 
capable lawyer, a good Judge, a safe adviser in public 
affairs and a wise and beneficent ruler. He made haste 
slowly. But few men in the trying positions in which he 
was placed have made so few mistakes. It was because 
of his excellent judgment and probity that he was re- 
sorted to by individuals and the public in times of the 
greatest exigency. 

The honorable soubriquet by which he was most famil- 
iarly known throughout our State, "Honest Joel Parker," 
shows a trait of his character which at once gives him a 
noble eminence in our esteem. In all the private rela- 
tions and public duties of life the breath of suspicion has 
never shadowed his name with any thought of dishonor 
or duplicity. His word was as good as his bond. There 
are those before me to-day who know what mighty temp- 
tations beset a man in public life, to appear to wish to do 
one thing in the presence of one party or clan, and quite 
another thing in different surroundings. But no solicita- 
tions to evil could ever induce our friend to seek his 
fortune by crooked paths. He sacrificed his interests for 



60 MEMORIAL OF 

his principles, and defended and maintained his principles 
consistently to the end. This made him a safe man at 
the head of public affairs in our State during the war. It 
nerved his arm and brain to devise ways and means to 
meet every requisition of the general Government, to 
keep peace and quietness at home when riot and blood- 
shed were threatened, and to provide for the easy and 
early discharge of every linancial obligation incurred by 
the State. 

The morning after his election to be Governor, in 1861, 
I gave him my congratulations, meeting him casually 
upon the street, and suggested that he had come to his 
place of power in troublesome times, A tear glistened in 
his eye, and with deep emotion he said to me, " In the 
heat of this campaign I never thought I should feel as I 
do this morning. A great responsibility presses upon 
me, but by God's help, I mean to do right.'' This pur- 
pose to do right, combined with a reverent trust in God, 
was the secret of his grand success as a War Governor. 
He meant to help the Government he had given his oath 
to sustain, by the use of all legitimate means. You will 
remember many touching and powerful incidents illustra- 
tive of the strength of his character employed in main- 
taining the rights of citizens, coupled with an honest and 
zealous determination to defend the honor of the nation 
in time of great peril. The letter which he directed to 
the Secretary of War, when making demand of him as 
an executive officer for a prisoner held in control of our 
courts of justice, will make him immortal, as it should do. 
He was not afraid of all the powers of earth and hell in a 
question in which he had the responsibility and was clear 
in his convictions of right. 

He was a patriot. His grandfather served in the war 
of the Revolution, and if our lamented Governor was 
proud of anything — and here let us learn a lesson for our 
use when sneered at by the captious and the foolish and 
ignorant — if Governor Parker was proud of anything it 



JOEL PARKER. 61 

was that he was a Jerseyman. He loved and honored 
the place of his nativit3\ He was proud of the history of 
his State in the colonial times and in the war of inde- 
pendence ; of its honorable band of heroes and statesmen ; 
of its judiciary, its bright and imperishable fame; the vir- 
tue, intelligence and thrift of its citizens. He was fond 
of research in matters pertaining to local history, and 
dwelt with satisfaction upon every evidence of suffering 
and successful toil, and of sacrifices for the public good. 
He gloried in our institutions and did everything in his 
power to protect and preserve them. One illustration 
among many may be given, which has become familiar to 
us all by reason of his persistency and determination in 
carrying forward to a successful accomplishment that 
which he believed to be right, in honor of our ancestors. 
Ten years ago, in the Presbyterian church, at the close of 
the exercises of the Freehold Institute, he arose, craved a 
moment's indulgence, and eloquently plead with the vast 
assembly gathered from all parts of the State, to go to 
their homes resolved to build a monument to perpetuate 
the fame of our Revolutionary sires. He called a pul)]ic 
meeting, organized an association, devised a plan of pro- 
cedure, solicited subscriptions from his personal friends 
in large amounts ; gave money himself, and labored and 
thought to bring about this worthy object. He excited 
an interest in the matter that could not be put down. He 
then went to Trenton and by wise and earnest methods 
secured a large appropriation from the State, and thence 
to Washington and enlisted the sympathy of Senators 
and Congressmen, and after seven years of hard labor, he 
saw the work gloriously achieved. Nothing more fitting 
could be done now than to place upon the granite base of 
that monument this inscription : " Sine Joel Parker, non 
fuisset : Obit, 1888 r 

He was a man of great industry. His successes were 
won by hard work. In the study and among men and 
books ; in his office and wherever duty called him he was 



62 MEMORIAL OF 

a toiler. His preceptor, here present, told me that more 
than fifty years ago, when in his preparatory course for 
Princeton, whoever came into the class-room with an 
imperfect recitation Joel Parker was always prepared. 
The early hours of the morning found him at his tasks, 
and when others were sleeping he was giving thought 
and care to the trusts imposed upon him. His genius 
was for painstaking, diligent, honest work, and it reward- 
ed him with the rich fruits of industry, the respect of the 
community and the emoluments of office. 

He was a generous patron of every good cause. In 
everything pertaining to the best interests of the commu- 
nity in which he lived, he gave ungrudgingly his time 
and means and influence. He assisted in bringing the 
railroad to our village. He aided the farmers to institute 
their annual fair. He favored a limited corporation for 
the convenience and comfort of the citizens of our town. 
He was foremost in upholding the schools which have 
graced and blessed our town, and invested large sums of 
money for their re-establishraent when disaster fell upon 
them. After carrying through with determined persist- 
ency the endeavor to huild up again the seminary for 
young ladies in our town, he stated in public that he 
regarded this school as a better and more enduring mon- 
ument to the honor of those who with him had engaged 
in the work, than the granite shaft to the memory of the 
heroes who fought and fell in the battle of Monmouth. 
He was a generous giver to all the churches and all their 
charities. He never withheld his purse and his best 
wishes from any good cause properly presented to his 
attention. 

And here we touch upon some of the most tender and 
precious memories concerning our departed friend, en- 
shrined within our hearts. There are brotherhoods here 
with wide connections, and military associations, and vet- 
eran soldiers, survivors of the late war, the Cincinnati, 
and all through our community and land in humble 



11 



JOEL PARKER. 63 

homes, and, as I happen to knou', beyond the seas in other 
lands those who have loved our kind-hearted friend, and 
who will never cease to cherish his memory, for his coun- 
Bel, his genial friendship, his official assistance, his charity 
and timely aid in many ways. Never shall we know on 
earth how wide is the influence which a prospered man 
in exalted station may exert, if only his heart prompts 
him to kindly deeds. One or two instances of Governor 
Parker's kindly offices to the distressed and needy may 
show his claim to gratitude. 

During the war he came to me one morning early and 
said : " There are two young men in the army sentenced 
to be shot for desertion. Technically those youths may 
be deserters, but morally they are not, and the mother of 
one of these boys — for he was only a boy — has been to 
see me and wants to know if I can do anything to save 
the life of her son." This young man had been wounded 
at Fair Oaks, and was sent to the hospital at Newark, and 
after partial recovery he was given a furlough for a few 
days to visit his mother and sister, when the great proc- 
lamation came out that all deserters should be dealt with 
capitally. He was taken up and sent to the front, and 
without knowledge of the details of his case, he was sen- 
tenced to be shot with another young man from the city 
of Newark, a boy of nineteen, who had committed the 
indiscretion of putting a " Y " on his military cap in the 
place of "J," and thus had gone into a New York regi- 
ment of the same number with his own, in camp near by. 
He said to me, " I wish you to go and see Mr. Lincoln 
and try and save the lives of those boys." And they were 
saved. I believe they are living to-day. It is a small 
matter, perhaps, but I may say that in both of those cases 
the men came from families belonging to a political party 
not his own. A man came to my house on Tuesday, and 
in conversation said that Governor Parker gave him ad- 
vice at a trying time in early life, which had a determin- 
ing influence upon his whole career; and when after- 



64 MEMORIAL OF 

wards Mr. Parker received tlie nomination for Governor, 
he spoke to his friends about voting for him, and thej 
said "You will not vote for a Democratic Governor?" 
and he replied, " Yes, I will vote for Governor Parker an 
hundred times if I have the opportunity; he did me a 
favor I never can forget." 

And now with infinite satisfaction we turn to contem- 
plate the noblest quality in the character of our honored 
friend, which bore fruit, as we humbly trust, to his ever- 
lasting joy and glory. He always reverenced religion. 
His mother was a godly woman, and like all great men 
and those of generous nature, he loved his mother. He 
watched at her bedside when she died, and as she calmly 
spoke of the heavenly life, whilst his heart was breaking 
with generous grief, he obtained visions of those things 
which are more noble and of more worth than the great- 
est glory of the world. From the influence of that moth- 
er's holy life and triumphant death, he could never free 
himself. He said that he always hoped to be a Christian. 
As he sat a faithful and attentive listener in one of these 
pews — and he was never absent when he could be here — 
deep emotion would often show itself in every feature of 
his face, and his whole frame would sometimes be moved 
with inward feeling. I remember during the close of the 
canvass when he was the last time elected Governor, he 
had made iive speeches on Saturday — one atlS^ewark at a 
late hour — and he ordered his carriage with swift horses 
to be at the station at New Brunswick to convey him to 
his home, so that he could spend the Sabbath in that, to 
him, most blessed and helpful sanctuary. Sabbath morn- 
ing he was in his place in the house of God. I spoke to 
him about it and said, "I thought you were in Newark 
at ten o'clock last night;" and he said, " So I was, but I 
do not like to spend a Sabbath in a hotel, and especially 
at such a time as this, to be surrounded by political asso- 
ciations." Oh, what a power that home was to our dear 
friend. And to all those struo;2:lino; in the o-reat affairs 



JOEL PARKER. 65 

of life what a blessing is there in a refined christian home. 
He loved music and especially the sweet hymns and sen- 
tences which his long since sainted daughter rendered in 
our sanctuary with thrilling tenderness and pathos. After 
her beautiful death he could repel the solicitations of the 
Holy Spirit no longer. He went at that period through 
an experience of grief a thousand fold more distressing 
than his recent brief translation. In the early spring of 
1881 he presented himself at this sacred place to receive 
holy baptism. Alone, he stood here in the aisle and took 
upon himself the vows and covenant of God. Here, rev- 
erently, humbly and devouth' he knelt, and as the tears 
ran down his cheeks, he received the water of baptism. 
Since then he has honored, as might have been expected 
such a man would do, the christian profession he made. 
He loved the Bible, christian fellowship, the house of 
worship, and the place of prayer, and it is a tender inci- 
dent connected with this church, which will so greatly 
miss his earnest and wise counsel, that the very last 
thoughts of his life, connected with his home associations, 
were given to the erection of the new tower of this church, 
and his strongest desire was that he might live to see the 
work completed. The last night he spent in Freehold he 
talked with me nearly an hour upon this very subject of 
the church's improvement and the means by which he 
proposed to aid in carrying on the work, and how he 
hoped to see the debt extinguished. 

How few" well rounded lives there are ! How seldom is 
the ideal of the poet realized, when he says : 

" So live that when thy summons comes 
****** 

Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night, 
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

.And yet not to dream ; to rest, to rejoice and still to 
serve. How beautiful his death. 

Though in a strange city he found his head pillowed 



66 



MEMORIAL OF 



in a home which his own gentle charity had furnished for 
a defenceless woman and her children. His last words 
on earth were those the deepest engraved upon his aftec- 
tionate heart, a recognition of his cherished wife. He 
was spared the pain of a long sickness, the fear of dying 
and the anguish of separation. He went down to the 
brink of that little stream which we call death, with his 
family around him, a vanished hand outstretched from 
the other side beckoned him over, and he gained the 
vision and the presence of his Lord and the life immortal. 

We commend these dear surviving friends to the mer- 
ciful loving kindness of their Lord. They know " Whom 
they have believed and are persuaded that he is able to 
keep that which they have committed," and do this day 
commit, "into liis hands against that day." These sons 
have before them an illustrious example to follow, and 
may be cheered along the henceforth darkened pathway 
of life by the heartfelt s^'mpathy of those who will wish 
them well for their father's sake. The noblest virtue and 
the loftiest aims should lure them on to fellowsliip with 
the good and great of earth. 

Of those who are in middle life and advancing years, 
those who were associated with him upon the Judicial 
bench and in the lofty stations of the political arena, 
those who have known and respected our honored dead 
in all the various relations of life, let me bespeak a serious 
thought concerning the emptiness of all pursuits and la- 
bors which do not grasp our country's good, the good and 
ennoblement of our fellow men, the cause of Christ on 
earth and the immortal glory ! Presidents and Generals and 
Governors of the people and Judges die. Monuments of 
granite perish. That which is immortal is the good men 
do. By deeds of righteousness, by works of charity, by 
the enforcement of principle, by sowing the seeds of 
truth, the Avorld is made l)ctter, character is formed and 
heaven is won, through the faith and grace of oui- Lord 
Jesus Christ. Let the young learn to day, that industry, 



JOEL PARKER. 67 

integrity, kindness of heart and manner, a virtnons life 
and Christian faith, have their reward in this world and 
in the world to come. 

We await the resurrection. From the chamber of 
death, from the home now made desolate, from the house 
of God where we have desired to gather lessons of com- 
fort and wisdom, we go to the grave, and thence we go 
to our homes again, and then to our several callings in 
life. We separate, no more to meet on earth. But we 
shall all be gathered together again ! We shall be sum- 
moned by the voice of the archangel and the trump of 
God ! Whether death overtake us soon and suddenly as 
it did our brother, or with many premonitions years 
hence, we shall sleep the sleep of death ; or shall we be 
startled by the coming of the Son of Man to judgment! 

Shall you and I and all of us in that great day appear 
before the throne with clean hands and a pure heart, and 
with robes of righteousness whiter than snow ; or shall 
we come terrified and unprepared into the awful presence 
of that unseen Avorld ! By this sudden, startling provi- 
dence, by the tokens of our mortality which afflict us 
to-day, I beseech and warn you, in the language of the 
Master, " Be ye also ready, for in such an liour as ye 
tliink not, the Son of Man cometh." 

Hymn — ''Lead, Kindb/ Light." Music by J. B. Dykes. 

The Lord's Prayer aud the Bendietion, by Ber. H. G. Smith. 

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy 
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, 
as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our trespasses, as Ave forgive those that 
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and 
the power and the glory, forever. Amen. 

i^ow the God of peace, that brought again from the 
dead our Lord Jesus, that great She})herd of the sheep, 



68 MEMORIAL OF 

through the blood of the evedasting co\'enaiit, make you 
perfect in every good work to do His will, working in 
you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through 
Jesus Christ ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 

The vocal music was rendered by the following mem- 
bers of the choir of the Presbyterian church : Misses 
Belle H. McClure, Jennie A. Perrine and Kate Blackwell, 
and Messrs. J. B. Haviland and A. A. Chambers. 

To the Cciiietery. 

The procession was then re-formed, and headed by 
Yoss's Band, of Xewark, playing funeral marches, with 
the Joel Parker Association as escort, proceeded to the 
Freehold cemeter3\ The following selections were per- 
formed by the Band : 

Funeral March, " Crown of Immortelles," - Rossini. 
Funeral March, No. 5, - - - - Beethoven. 

Funeral March, ----- Chopi)i. 

At the Grace. 

The following burial service was conducted by Rev. 
Henry G. Smith : 

I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me. Write, 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from hence- 
forth ; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their 
labors ; and their works do follow them. 

Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God, in His 
wise providence, to take out of the world the soul of our 
brother departed, we therefore commit his bodv to the 
ground ; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust ; 
looking for the general Resurrection in the last day, and 
the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ; at whose second coming in glorious majesty to 
judge the world, the earth and the sea shall give up their 
dead; and the corruptible bodies of those who sleep in 
Him shall be changed, and made like unto His own glo- 
rious body ; according to the mighty working Avhereby 
He is able to subdue all things unto Himself. 



JOEL PARKER. 69 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of 
God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with you 
all, evermore. Amen. 

" Nearer my God, to T'Aee," Vos.v'.s Band. 

The Joel Parker Association, of Newark, which formed 
one side of the square at the grave, then formed in pro- 
cession and marched around the grave, each one casting 
upon the coffin a sprig of evergreen, and then resumed 
their places, when their band performed a solemn dirge. 



Memorial Meetings, 
Addresses and Resolutions. 



Memorial Meetings, Addresses and 
Resolutions. 



STATE OF NEW JERSEY 



PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR. 

Ex-Governor Joel Parker died suddenly, in the city of Philadelphia, 
on the morning of January 2, 1888. 

The eminent services rendered by him to his native State, his 
selection to the prominent and important j^ositions which he filled, 
his pure patriotism, unyielding integrity and conspicuous fidelity to 
every trust, render it fitting that more than ordinary respect be paid 
to his memory. 

That he was her only citizen who has been twice elected Governor 
of the State by the people, identified with the military as a Major 
General, once occupying the position of Attorney General, and at the 
time of his death a Justice of the Supreme Court, are evidences of the 
respect, esteem and confidence 'of the people, which he secured and to 
the last enjoyed. 

He administered the affairs of State during some of the most trying 
times of the late war with ability, firmness and prudence, complying 
with every requirement, and true and loyal to the integrity of the 
Union and the Government, yet always maintaining the rights and 
dignity of the State and its institutions. His foresight established a 
method for the settlement of the war debt without burden to the peo- 
ple. His every act as her Chief Magistrate Avas dictated by anxious 
desire for her interests and prosperity. 

Therefore I, Robert S. Green, Governor of the State of New Jersey, 
do in testimony of the respect for his memory and sympathy in his 
loss, hereby direct that the public buildings be draped in mourning 
for thirtv davs, and that until the dav of the funeral the flags thereon 



74 MEMORIAL OF 

be placed at half-mast, and that during the funeral services the public 
offices be closed and the proper salute be fired. 

Given under my hand and privy seal, at Trenton, 
[l. s.] this third day of January, A. D. eighteen hundred and 

eighty-eight. Egbert S. Green, 

Attest : Governor. 

RoBT. S. GuEEX, Jr., Private Secretary. 



TOWN OF FREEHOLD. 



CITIZENS MEETING. 
Reprjrt of the Committee on Resolutions. 

IX MEMORIAM : 

The citizens of the town of Freehold, convened by its Mayor for 
appropriate action regarding the sudden death of the Honorable Joel 
Parker, desire to express their sincere sorrow at this irreparable lose ; 
their supreme respect for his memory, and their afiectionate apprecia- 
tion of his character as a true man, a good neighbor and a firm friend 
in all his relations to the people with and for whom he lived well 
nigh half a century. 

As a public-spirited, broad-minded, large-hearted, whole-souled citi- 
zen, he was foremost in every enterprise promotive of the social, 
commercial, educational and artistic advancement of our community. 

As a counsellor in the practice of his profession, he was conscien- 
tious, industrious and learned, at once an earnest and eloquent advo- 
cate, a safe guide and a fearless champion. 

As Governor of our State — and notably during the perilous period 
of our civil war — he was conspicuous among his cotemporaries for 
ability, probity, loyalty and courage, leading and inspiring the masses. 

As a Justice of the Supreme Court, his eminent qualifications — 
combining the scholarly attainments of the legal practitioner and the 
broad experience of the man of affairs — enabled him to discharge the 
high duties of that responsible office with acknowledged dignity, 
wisdom and righteousness. 

Impressed by this retrospect of an exemplary character and career, 
we, his old time friends and neighbors — long honored by his life 
among us ; his kindly concern for our personal and public good ; and 
his consistent efforts for their realization — while reverenth' " kissing 
the rod that sorely smites us," would mingle our modest minor with 
the many which blend to swell that solemn strain of sorrow, eloquent 
of the universal love and respect of his native State, whose historic 
honor and prosperity are so indissolubly linked with his own fair 



JOEL PARKER. 75 

fame as her most distinguished, pure, patriotic and popular son, of the 
generation he faithfully served and eminently adorned. 

And, with a sensitive delicacy of feeling which fears to obtrude 
upon that inner sanctuary of grief — the home his presence once nobly 
filled — we would tenderly convey to hia loved ones there the assurance 
of our sincere sympathy and our deep desire to help lighten by shar- 
ing, if we may, the burden that is not all their own. 

And, that our cherished memories of the departed and our christian 
hopes for him and his dearest survivors, may humbly follow wherever 
he was best known and beloved, for this faltering tribute — that only 
suggests to kindred hearts those sympathetic emotions which no 
language can enshrine — we bespeak a place among like memorials of 
him whom we shall all reverently remember as one of the grand com- 
pany of earth's great and good, who — touched by that angel of the re- 
surrection whom men call Death — stand henceforth transfigured. 

The citizens of Freehold, by 

Holmes AV. Murphy, 

Frank P. McDermott, 

John B. Conover, J- Committee. 

James S. Yard, 

January 2, 1888. Charles A. Bennett, 



RESOLUTIONS OF CO. E., SEVENTH REUT., N. G. N. J. 

Resolved, That we learn Avith profound regret of the death of ex- 
Governor Parker, an honorary member of this company, and that we 
tender our sincere sympathies to his family in their great bereavement. 
Resolved, That this Company wear the usual badge of mourning for 
thirty days. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be entered on our minutes, and that 
a copy of the same be forwarded to the family. 
By order of the Company, 

1st Lieut. John AV. Hulse, 1 

1st Sergt. Joseph Brown, > Committee. 

Private Joseph A. Yard, J 



MEMORIAL OF MONMOUTH LODGE, I. 0. OF 0. F. 

At a meeting of Monmouth Lodge, No. 20, I. O. of 0. F., held at 
their lodge room in Freehold on Monday evening, January 9th, the 
committee appointed at the preceding meeting to report a memorial 
on the death of ex-Governor Parker made the following report, which, 
on motion, was received and adopted, and a copy thereof signed by 
the officers and under the seal of the Lodge was ordered to be sent to 
the family and published in the newspapers of Freehold : 

This Lodge receives with feelings of profound grief the intelligence 



76 MEMORIAL OF 

of the death of ex-Governor Parker, one of the original members of 
this Lodge, for years an honored officer, and always a warm and earn- 
est supporter of the Order. In his life and character he illustrated 
the principles of our Order and reflected honor upon the institution at 
large. In hia death we have sustained a loss that cannot be repaired. 
Words fail us to express our admiration for his personal character and 
our appreciation of his worth to our institution and to the community 
which he so faithfully served during his long and useful life. We can 
but mingle our tears with those of his sorrowing friends, and refer to 
■ his record, now the common pride of his native county and State, and 
the common inheritance of his fellow citizens, and claim that he was 
also our brother and friend ; therefore, 

Resolved, That a memorial page be set apart in our minutes upon 
which to inscribe the record of his decease, and that the Lodge room 
be draped in mourning for the space of thirty days. 

AViLLIAM McDeRMOTT, "| 

James S. Yard, \ Committee. 

Freehold, Jan. 9, 1888. Alonzo Biwwer, J 

A true copy from the minutes : 

JoHX F. Sickles, N. G. 
George E. Brown, Sec'j'. 



MEMORIAL OF OLIVE BRANCH LODCJE, F. A. M. 

At a stated comnninication of Olive Branch Lodge, No. 10, F. A. M., 
held on Tuesday evening, January 24, the following minute and reso- 
lutions were adopted : 

IN me.moriam. 

Our eminent brother, Joel Parker, died on the 2d day of January, 
A. D. 1888, in the 72d year of his age. 

Having been twice elected Governor of this State and filled the 
offices of Attorney-General and Justice of the Supreme Court, besides 
other minor offices, he had been honored by his fellow citizens with 
perhaps more distinguished honors tlian had ever before been con- 
ferred upon any of its sons. During his long political life he won the 
respect and confidence of all by his frankness and moderation, and his 
fair name was unsullied by the breath of slander. As a citizen of our 
town and county he was foremost in every enterprise which con- 
tributed to their advantage or renown. Among many other activities, 
his labors in behalf of the erection of the " Battle Monument " in our 
town, and his contributions to the State Historical Society, will long 
be remembered and appreciated by our people. 

As a Mason, he was sincerely attached to the principles of the order, 
and was ever readv to aid and assi.st in the relief of distress. He was 



JOKL PARKER. 77 

made a Mason in this Lodge on the 24th of April, 1857, and by his 

death it lias lost one of its oldest, most devoted and faithful members ; 

therefore be it 
Resolved, That a memorial page be reserved in the minutes of the 

Lodge, and that this minute be entered therein ; And be it further 
Resolved, That the Lodge room be suitably draped with the usual 

emblems of mourning. 

J. C. Lawrence, "| 

H. W. Murphy, \ Committee. 

A. C. Hart, j 



FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

At the annual meeting of the congregation of the First Presbyterian 
Church of Freehold, held on Monday, April 2, 1888, in the lecture 
room of the church, Mr. Charles Hartzheim presented the following 
preamble and resolutions from the Board of Trustees, which were 
adopted by the congregation : 

MEMORIAL OP HON. JOEL PARKER. 

Whereas, It has pleased our Heavenly Father to call into eternal rest, 
by sudden death, while temporarily in the city of Philadelphia, on 
January 2, 1888, Joel Parker, at the time of his death a Judge of the 
Supreme Court and ex-Governor of the State of JNew Jersey, and a 
member of this Church and its Board of Trustees ; and 

Whereas, It is the desire of the members of the Board of Trustees 

and congregation to express their high appreciation of his character 

and of his zeal and labors for the benefit of this Church while a 

member of its Board of Trustees ; therefore be it 

Resolved, That while we share the common sorrow of the people of 

this community and State over the loss of so distinguished a fellow 

citizen, wise and just Judge, and honored officer, we mourn in the 

death of the Hon. Joel Parker a beloved member, to whose wise 

counsel, zeal and generosity this Church is largely indebted for its 

present material prosperity ; and be it further 

Resolved, That these resolutions be entered upon the records of this 
Church. 



EXERCISES AT FREEHOLD OX MEMORIAL DAY, 1888. 

On the occasion of the decoration ceremonies at the Freehold Ceme- 
tery the grave of ex-Governor Parker was strewn with flowei's by a 
committee compo-ed of members of the Yredenburgh Rifles, (Co. E, 
7th Eeg't, N. G. N. J.,) Capt. J. W. Conover Post, G. A. E., and Capt. 
H. I. Conine Camp, Sons of Veterans. 

At the conclusion of the services at the oemeterv an address was de- 



78 MEMORIAL OF 

livered at Shinn'sHall by the orator of the daj', William H. Vreden- 
burgh, Esq., who niade the following reference to the deceased ex- 
Governor : 

On July 18th, 1802, a stirring and important proclamation for troops 
was issued by the Major-General commanding here, which probably 
had more eft'ect in hastening enlistments, and shaping })ublic senti- 
ment, than any local event that had yet occurred. This address was 
issued by Major-General Joel Parker. You rememljer him well. He 
has but just now gone to his silent grave, where he rests from the 
labors of a very active and useful life — a life devoted to duty and to 
great ends and aims, but which always kept in view the best interests 
of the community in which he lived ; a nian whose intense patriotism 
and zeal for the establishment of rightful authority was born of revolu- 
tionary fervor. He brushed aside the counsels of such of his would- 
be advisers as were inclined to put oljstacles in the way of the vigorous 
prosecution of the war, and plunged into it with all the enthusiasm of 
his nature. He refuse 1 to listen to the seductions of treason, and rose 
high above it. Let me read to you his glowing words, as they came 
from his pen on July 18, 1862, before he became the Governor of our 
State : 

" The next fuw weeks will probably determine whether the Union is to be restored 
and the ConjJtitutiou of the United States again become the accepted primary law 
throughont its former jurisdiction, or whether the Republic bequeathed by our 
fathers is to lose its national life, and be stritk from the list of the powers 
OF the earth. The Government needs men and needs them now, and if every 
man could be made to know and appreciate the imminent peril of the nation 

the regiments called for would be raised in 30 DAYS." 



MOXMOUTH C^OUXTY 



At the op3ning of the January term of the Monmouth Courts, on 
Tuesday, January 3d, after the Grand Jury had been sworn, Judge E. 
W. Scuddder addressed them as f(.)llows : 

JUDGE SCUDDEll's ADDRESS. 

We have met to-day under the shadow of a great sorrow. One of 
the foremost men of our state, a citizen of your own county, who has 
twice been elected to the office of Governor, and twice been appointed 
to the position of Justice of the Supreme Court, has died suddenly, 
away from his home. His patriotism in the time of greatest peril to 
our nation ; his probity of character in common life and high official 
positions ; his excellent judgment and superior knowledge in his pro- 



JOF.L PARKER. 79 

fession and in the ordinary affairs of business, have made him con- 
spicuous from his early manhood down to the time of his lamented 
death. You will all join with me in paying a sorrowful tribute to the 
memory of the Honorable Joel Parker, who loved his native county 
of Monmouth so well, and always in word and action showed his great 
pride and interest in her prosperity. You will also join with me in 
the expression of sjanj^athy with his friends in their great affliction. 
There will be a meeting of the Bar and proper resolutions passed and 
entered in the minutes of the court, showing our high appreciation of 
his worth ; and I trust that all who can will on next Friday be pres- 
ent at his funeral, and follow to their last resting place the remains of 
our honored friend, who in serving the public so faithfully, has 
reflected great credit upon his native county. I do not feel that it is 
necessary to make any special charge to you at this time, and after the 
formal opening of the court and the arrangement of its business for the 
term, will adjourn the session for to-day as a proper respect to the 
memory of my associate on the bench of our Supreme Court. 



MEMORIAL OF THE GRAND JURY. 

On the assembling of the Grand Jury of Monmouth county, Janu- 
ary Term, the following memorial was adopted : 

Joel Parker, jurist and statesman, our friend, is dead. 

His exemplary and distinguished life is spent, and that life won for 
him our love, achieved bright honors, gained national resj^ect, and 
will ever be a grateful and cherished memory to the commonwealth of 
New Jersey. The responsibility of public duty fell upon him while 
yet young, and left him not until the end had come. As a legislator 
he was conscientious and wise ; as a statesman incorruptible and loyal 
when others easily forgot that disloyalty was a hideous crime ; as the 
chief executive of the State, when dissolution plotted against the 
National life, his zeal and devotion to the Union made him bright 
and conspicuous as a patriot and earned for him the grateful benedic- 
tion of Abraham Lincoln ; as a Judge he was deliberate, fairminded 
and profound ; as a man sympathetic, genial and upright. Honored 
among the great yet always cherished fellowship with the lowly ; 
gifted but not arrogant ; dignified but tainted by no mean pride ; he 
was firm in resolution but tender in heart. Therefore be it 

Resolved, That with this epitome of a pure, useful and brilliant life 
before us, we, the members of the Grand Jury of Monmouth county, 
give expression to that profound sadness and sincere grief with which 
the announcement of the death of the Hon. Joel Parker has filled us. 



80 



MKMOIilA L OF 



and move a copy of the same be pi 
in the county papers. Signed 
Theo. Aumack, 
Wm. a. Dunlop, 
Richard Taylor, 
RuLiFF P. Smock, 
Hubbard Formax, 
J. PALMER Nelson, 
av.m. b. duryee, 
John VanMater, 
David Baird, 
John H. Heyer, 
James Fay, Clerk, 



esented to his family and published 

Richard Bokden, 

Orlin Green, 

Jos. A. Throckmorton, 

Abram H. Morris, 

James Fay, 

Chas. S. Bullock, 

Grandin p. Johnson, 

Geo. W. Patterson, Jr., 

David S. Gifford, 

Amos Tilton, 

Theo. Aumack, Foreman. 



RESOLUTIONS OF THE BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS. 



AVhereas, The Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Mon- 
mouth, in common with the people of New Jersey, feel that death 
has removed from our midst one of the most eminent of our public 
men, and we also feel that we have lost a citizen who has exercised 
a controlling and beneficent influence in the public afiairs of this 
county for nearly half a century, and that it is proper and fitting 
that the death of Joel Parker should be in a public form commemo- 
rated by us ; it is therefore 

Resolred, That while we may not question the inscrutable ways of 
God we may still, in common with our stricken community, mourn 
the loss of an eminent and exemplary citizen, a pure and patriotic 
statesman, and a learned and impartial Judge. 

Resolred, That while we point with just pride as a native born citi- 
zen of this county to his life-long devotion to the interests of his State 
and county, we find a melancholy satisfaction in recalling his love for 
his native county, his efforts for its prosperity and fame and his zeal 
in honoring the memory of our Revolutionary Sires. 

Resolved, That we regard the death of Joel Parker a public loss : Not 
alone as a defender of popular rights against all encroachments, the 
protector of the weak and feeble against the strong and jiowerful, but 
because he was always ready to sacrifice his personal interests on the 
altar of the public good, to aid the poor with an oj^en hand, and to as- 
sist the needy with generous liberality. 

Resolred, That thes^e resolutions be entered in our minutes, be pub- 
lished in the newspapers of the county, and that an engrossed copy be 
presented to the bereaved family. 



.JOEL PARKKIi. 81 

Rcxo/red, That the Court House be eontinuod draped in mourning 
for tliirtv davs. 

C. B. WA(iXER, 

Jehu P. Cooper, 
A. W. Vanderveer, ., -.^ 

W. A.-Di-NLOP, Committee. 

William L. Tilton, 
Freehold, Jan. 11, ISSS. John Hexuy Heyer, 



THE BEXCH AND BAR. 



PROCEEDIXUS IX THE COURT OF ERRORS AND APPEALS. 

On tlie 28th day of January, 1888, immediately after the reading of 
the opinions, Hon. Benjamin Williamson arot-e and called attention 
to the departure from life, since the last meeting of the court, of one 
of the Judges of the Court, and asked permission on the part of the 
Bar of the State to have read an expression of feeling concerning the 
deceased. 

Mr. G. D. W. Vrooin, on behalf of the Bar, then i)resented the fol- 
lowing : 

Since the last meeting of this Court, one of its members, Joel 
Parker, has departed this life ; and the Bar of this ytate desire to 
express to the Court the sense of their great loss. 

Judge Parker was perhaps the best known public man in New 
Jersey. He had held with great honor, and had discharged with 
conspicuous ability, during the trying times of the late civil war, the 
duties of the chief executive office of New Jersey. In appreciation of 
such services he was again called to that high trust, and at the time of 
his death he was, and for nearly eight years previous thereto had 
been, a distinguished and useful member of this Court. 

The Bar of this State, in recognition of the eminent public sen'ices 
of Joel Parker, wish to express to the Court, in this public manner, 
their high appreciation of his patriotism, his marked ability and 
undoubted integrity, and ask that this tribute of respect be entered on 
the minutes of the court. 

It was ordered that the paper be entered on the mimites of the 
court. Chief Justice Beasley then said : 

The sorrow and regret expressed by the Bar at the death of ]\Ir. 
Justice Parker is, I am sure, participated in to the full by every mem- 
ber of this Court. In common with our fellow citizens at large, we 
feel that the loss of one so truly distinguished by a life devoted to the 
public service is a calamity to every inhabitant of the State ; and yet, 
while as individuals we share in this common grief, we cannot but be 
aware that as Judges we have sustained a particular bereavement. 



82 MEMORIAL OF 

The deceased was our associate and co-laborer, and we could not fail 
to feel that his presence strengthened and dignified every court in 
which he sat. He had many judicial qualities of a high order. Fore- 
most among these was his profound sense of the obligations of his 
office. In his position on the bench, as well as in all other offices 
filled by him, he gave himself to it with all his strength. This made 
him a strenuous worker. It was at first thought that in the trial of 
causes he was somewhat slow and dilatory, but it was soon found that 
this was the result, not of indolence, but of industry, for if he procras- 
tinated it was with the purpose of mastering the facts and the law in 
all their details. The result was that a litigant was seldom injured 
by his mistake. So this sense of duty appeared to keep his mind 
open to the just influence of argument and advice ; he was the oppo- 
site of an opinionated man ; he was as one determined to be right, 
and he willingly accepted any aid to that end. 

Another judicial qualification of prominence was his M'ide knowl- 
edge of men and their affairs. He was versed in the various transac- 
tions of business, and he read human nature easily by the light of a 
great experience. This was the groundwork of that common sense for 
which he was so consi)icuous, and whose conclusions were generally 
as reliable as the deductions of a more elaborate logic. He reached 
the justice of the case before him as if by instinct, and in this import- 
ant respect he was not often in error. He was a hater and punisher 
of fraud in all its forms, and he loved truth and honesty as only a 
good man can. Such qualities as these, both moral and intellectual, 
would make any man, as they made him, a figure of prominence on 
any judicial bench. 

Then, too, his character was sucli as to give weight and authority 
to the magistracy of which he formed a part. That he was honest ; 
that he meant to do right ; that his motives were pure, no one ever 
questioned. He had, and justly had, the implicit confidence of all 
ranks and conditions of men. It may be said, with almost literal 
truth, that he had no enemy, and that every man who was worthy of 
his acquaintance was his friend. 

The assent of a man thus respected and reverenced gave a moral as 
well as a legal force to every judicial decision in which he participated. 

In his manners he was aflable but dignified ; in social intercourse he 
was amiable and friendly, ever zealous in rendering assistance to those 
who deserved it. No man was less censorious, and he was lenient to 
the foibles of others, so that his estimates of men, while they were 
judicious, were kind. 

Such a man as this was entitled to respect, esteem, aflfection, and I 
am sure that I express the common sentiment of this court ■when I 
say that everv member of it is deeply conscious that by this lamented 
death he has lost an admirable associate and a loyal friend. 

Chancellor McGill directed that the eulogium be entered on the 
minutes of the court. 



JOEL PARKER. 83 



MONMOUTH. 

At the meeting of the Monmouth Bar Association, Friday morning, 
January 6th, Judge Scudder and Associates presiding, Robert Allen, 
Esq., of Red Bank, chairman of the committee, offered the following 
resolutions : 

MEMORIAL EESOLL^TIONS. 

Whereas, Death has lately removed fiom our midst Joel Parker, a dis- 
tinguished and meritorious resident and citizen of our county of 
Monmouth : 

Resolved, That these resolutions manife.-t the affection and respect of 
the members of the Monmouth County Bar for him. Twice elected 
Governor, once Attorney-General and twice ai)pointed and confirmed 
an Af-sociate Ju-tice of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey, 
who died in Philadelphia, January 2nd, 1888. Alike distinguished for 
simplicity of manner and purity of intention. Fearless, dignified and 
instructive as an officer and a Judge. No influence, no self interest, 
could swerve his integrity or bias his judgment. AVhilst we bow with 
humble resignation to the inevitable doom of humanity, we may adore 
the goodness of Providence that spared his years so long, to leave to 
his profei^sional a-sociates a spotless fame, and to his country the 
labor, knowledge and wisdom of a long, otiicial and judicial life. 

Resolved, That his patriotism, his devotion to the principles of 
liberty, justice and equality, his undeviating fidelity to the trusts of his 
State and discharge of his various duties of life, have left an honorable 
and indelible imprint in the pages of history. State and National, and 
an ineff'aceable impres.-ion on the memories of his fellow men. 

Resolved, That a copy of these re-olutions be communicated to the 
family of the decea-ed,as an assurance to them of a sincere condolence 
of the members of the Bar of his native county, and of the ofiicers of 
this Court, in this their bert avement, incident to the great loss sus- 
tained by them. 

Robert Allen, Jr., 
Geo. C. Beekmax, 
Charles Haicuit, 
Rens. W. Dayton, 
John E.. Lanning, 
January 6, 1888. W. H. Vredenburgh. 

Judge A. C. McLean moved the adoption of the resolutions and 
made the following remarks : 

remarks by judge m'c lean. 

In the year 1836 I made the acquaintance of Judge Parker. We 
were then classmates in the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, 
where we graduated in 1839. That acquaintance grew into a friend- 



84 MEMOniAL OF 

ship which lasted until broken by his death ; a haivh or unkind word 
has never passed between us. To me he was one of the most reliable 
practitioners at this Bar ; any verbal statement or agreement of his, I 
could rely upon implicitly ; his word was as good as his bond. For 
thirty years we lived within stones-throw of each other ; I knew him 
long, I knew him well. 

It is of the home life of my friend I desire to speak. He began the 
practice of his profession here in 1842. He was faithful, studious, 
laborious and pains-taking in his work, and soon took a prominent 
place at this Bar and secured a large practice. Perhaps the most noted 
case in which he was engaged was the trial of Donnelly, for the mur- 
der of Moses, in this county, in 1S57. He was then Prosecutor of the 
Pleas and was assisted by Judge Dayton, then Attorney-General. This 
has always been considered the most aljly conducted prosecution on 
the part of the State ever tried here. Judge Dayton's reputation was 
then at its zenith. The late Daniel B. Ryall declared his closing argu- 
ment to be the most eloquent and powerful effort he had ever heard, 
and yet by all Judge Parker's opening address before the jury com- 
pared well with that of Dayton, though Parker was then a young man. 
In his cases he came to trial fully prepared, and as a consequence he was 
very successful ; he made the cause of his client his own. At home 
his many traits of character were best known. His equanimity of 
temper was remarkable ; he was rarely disturbed even under strong 
provocation ; his conduct towards others was never harsh or unkind. 
His charity and benevolence was large and free, the poor never left 
his door unaided. His gifts to the various denominations of christians 
were constant and liberal. His love for this his native county was 
strong, and he was first in every movement to advance its interests ;he 
picked up scraps of its early history, until he had the largest unpub- 
lished collection in the State. His respect for religion was marked all 
along the pathway of life, and in the full strength of a vigorous man- 
hood he publicly professed Christ in the church of his parents. 
Judge Parker was the last of those who composed this Bar when I 
commenced practice. They have all crossed the river, the dark river 
of Death. 

'• One by one. 
Their travel-stained garments are all laid down, 

And clothed in white-raiment they rest on the mead. 
Where the Lamb loveth his children to lead 

One by one. 
To some were the floods of the river still, 

As they forded their way to the Heavenly hill, 
To others the waves run fiercely wild. 
Yet all reach the home of the undetiled. 
One by one." 

Judge Parker died as the warrior loves to die, with his armor on 
and bright, in the front rank of the strife. In the forepart of the day 



JOEL PARKER. 85 

on which he was stricken down he was in Court discharging the duties 
of his office. Brothers, let us draw a lesson from this providence : 
"^Ye too shall come to that river side, 

One by one. 
We are nearer its waters each eventide, 

One by one. 
We can hear the noise and the dash of the stream, 

Now and again througli our life's deep dream, 
Sometimes the floods all its banks overflow, 
Sometimes in ripples some waves go, 
One by one. 
Saviour, Redeemer, be Thou in full view. 
Then smilingly, gladsomely shall we pass through 
One by one." 

The Court ordered that the resolutions be spread upon the minutes 
and a certified copy be communicated to the famih- of the deceased. 



BURLINGTON. 

On Wednesday morning, at the time api)ointed for Court to open, 
Prosecutor Hendrickson announced the death of J udge Parker, and 
moved that Court take a recess until Monday, and that a meeting be 
held at once. 

Judge Glasgow was called to preside, and W. Budd Deacon was 
chosen secretary. 

Charles E. Hendrickson, John L. N. Stratton, Mahlon Hutchinson, 
Mark R. Sooy, Jerome B. Grigg, Judge Glasgow and Judge Wills were 
appointed to draft suitable resolutions touching Judge Parker's death, 
and the meeting adjourned. 

On Monday morning the adjourned meeting was called to order by 
Judge Glasgow. Prosecutor Hendrickson presented the following 
memorial : 

IN MEMORIAM. 

At a meeting of the Court of Common Pleas of the county of Bur- 
lington, held at the Court House in Mount Holly, on Wednesday, the 
4th day January, 1888, the Prosecutor of the Pleas announced to the 
Court the sudden death of the Hon. Joel Parker, Associate Justice of 
the Supreme Court of this State, who M'as then completing his eighth 
year as the Presiding Judge of the courts of this county, and moved 
that out of respect to the memory of the deceased the courts do now 
adjourn until after the funeral, and that a meeting of the Bench and 
Bar be immediately held to take suitable action in the premises. The 
courts were thereupon adjourned until the following Monday, 
and a meeting of the Bench, Bar and officers of the courts was im- 
mediately held, at which the undersigned were appointed a commit- 
tee to report to the courts at their adjourned meeting, expressive of 
their high appreciation of the great worth and services of the de- 



86 MEMORIAL OF 

ceased ami tlieir sorrow at his death. Your committee do therefore 
report the foUowinir minutes to be spread upon the records of the 
court : 

Joel Parker was born in ^Monmouth county, on November 24th, 
1816. He graduated at Princeton College in 1839 ; was admitted to 
the Bar of New Jei-sey in 1842 ; was a member of the Legislature of 
this State in 1847 ; was Prosecutor of the Pleas of his native county 
from 18ol to 1Sr>(\ ; was a Major (ieneral of the IMilitia in 18(11 ; was 
Governor of tliis State for two separate terms, from 1803 to 18()(), and 
from 1872 to 187r>; was appointed Attorney General in 1875; was a 
Justice of the Highest Courts of this State from 1880 until the time of 
his death ; he was the most signally honored citizen that New Jersey 
has ever had. In the performance of all these varied trusts imposed 
upon him by his fellow citizens, rare intelligence, great honesty and 
ardent patriotism were always conspicuous elements of his life and 
character. 

In the trying years of the war his ability and patriotism shone out 
witli unusual lustre ; lie was so prompt and ethcient in sending New 
Jersey troops to the front, especially when Pennsylvania was invaded 
and our Northern firesides threatened, that he received personal 
plaudits from Governor Curtin, from the Secretary of AVar and from 
President Lincoln himself. No one can ever dispute his just claim to 
the title of the great AVar Governor of New Jersey ; his love for the 
soldier and liis unremitting efforts for their care and comfort caused 
the veteran to ever regard him with great attachment, and the })eople 
to reward him wherever it was possible to do so. 

AVith a proud record of statesmanship, legal attainments, and fealty 
to public and private trusts, he went upon the Bench by the appoint- 
ment of Governor McClellan, and served the State in his new field 
with great fidelity and (.distinction. It was in this capacity that he 
was brought into close contact with us as members of the Bench and 
Bar and {lei^ple of Burlington county. In his official labors here he 
was painstaking and industrious to a high degree. His great ambition 
seemed to be, though often at the expense of time, to be so careful and 
accurate in all his judicial determinations that all errors might be 
avoided and litigants be saved the necessity of long and expensive 
appeals in the higher courts. 

As a Judge he was able and imjiartial ; firm in the administration 
of justice, but tender and merciful to the unfortunate. To his asso- 
ciates upon the Bench he was ever respectful and attentive, often 
deferring to their practical judgment in matters under consideration. 
To the members of the Bar and officers of the court he was ever kind 
and courteous, ready to assist the profession in matters of practice 
with which his long experience as a lawyer had made him so familiar. 
To the people he was ever cordial and approachable, ready to listen 
and advise. For the last three years he had spent his winters with 



JOEL PARKER. 87 

his family in our county in order to be near his courts ; he was spend- 
ing the present winter in the city of Burlington, the early home of his 
estimable companion. 

Ours was the last circuit in which he was permitted to sit. On Sat- 
urday he had presided at our Courts, apparently in his usual health, 
and on the afternoon of that day he suffered the attack which so 
speedily ended his eventful life. To his other great virtues he added 
a love and reverence for religion which, present during his whole life, 
ripened into full acceptance of faith a few years since, when he became 
a member of the Presbyterian church at Freehold. 

We deeply mourn the loss of our Judge and friend ; we tenderly 
sympathize with his bereaved widow and children, and we will ever 
hold in grateful remembrance his many kind services to us and to the 
people of our county. 

James 0. Glasgow, 
Bexajah p. Wills, 
John L. N. Strattox, 
Charles E. Hexdricksox, 
Mark R. Sooy, 
Jerome B. Grigg. 

Mr. Hendrickson moved that the i-eport be adoi^ted, and then made 
a few remarks on the death. He said there had never been an event 
like this in the history of"the State that has as much affected the pub- 
lic heart and especially Burlington county. This was no doubt due 
to the fact that the death strikes us so nearly, and occurring as it did 
during a session of our court. The Judge was always fond of being in 
this circuit, in which he had such a host of warm friends. His living 
in our midst for three years past shows the love he had for our coun- 
ty. He was a man whom all could look up to, and his noble example 
should be followed. 

Judge Wills seconded the motion to adopt the committee's report. 
He said that while he had not so long been associated with the Judge 
as some of the other members, yet he always found him a pleasant 
companion, fair in his rulings, in which he seldom erred. He was 
well-liked, and one of our greatest statesmen. 

Mr. W. Budd Deacon said : I would not be doing justice to my 
feelings if I did not add a few words to those that have already been 
said in memory of a great and good man. In the early days of the 
war I made the acquaintance of Joel Parker, and as years rolled on, 
in the course of official and private life, I became intimately acquaint- 
ed with him, and learned to i-espect and honor him. No man who 
knew him could fail to admire him. While honors had been heaped 
upon him thick and fast, they never turned his head. He knew he 
was only a man and never thought himself better than his fellow* 
man, and in the discharge of his official duties and in all the walks 
of life, he always met his fellow citizens (high, low, rich and poor,) 



88 MEMORIAL OF 

alike with an extended hand, prompted by a warm heart, and never 
overlooked or forgot a friend. He was conservative and liberal in his 
views, and while firm in his political opinions and believed in adher- 
ing to the rules of his party, he never allowed them to interfere 
with his social relations ; and the same rights and privileges he 
claimed for himself he conceded to others. As a Judge he was con- 
scientious, careful, impartial and courteous, and I venture to say, 
while abler lawyers may hereafter preside over this court, no one will 
ever excel him in these qualities. His achievements were grand, and 
those who have reached the summit of the hill of life and are on the 
downward journey, can refer the young, who are about to enter that 
rough and rugged road, to his success in life as a worthy example for 
them. Joel Parker is no longer with us; he has taken his flight to 
another and better world, and is resting from his labors. His mem- 
ory will ever be cherished by all true Jerseymen, and his name will 
go down in history as one of New Jersey's noblest sons. I second the 
adoption of the resolution. 

Mr. Joseph H. Gaskill said he heartily endorsed all that had been said 
before the meeting. His certificate as an attorney, he said, had been 
signed by Judge Parker fourteen years ago. No one had ever suffered 
at the hands of the deceased. The youngest lawyer received the same 
respect and attention from him as the oldest practitioner. 

Mr. Jerome B. Grigg thought he would not let the event pass with- 
out bearing some testimony to the life and type of character of Judge 
Parker, one which is a noble example to all young men. He said he 
had only known the Judge for a short time, but in it he had found 
liim an eminent man, clothed bj' nature in the garb of simplicity. The 
.able manner in which he discharged his great trusts commends him 
to our highest respect. As a Judge he was impartial and not one word 
■could be said against him. Mr. Grigg said he found the gate of ap- 
proach to Judge Parker was always ajar. Pie was a warm friend to the 
county and a just Judge. 

Mr. Jacob C. Hendrickson said : I take great pleasure in adding a 
few words in testimonial of my appreciation of the deceased. He, 
who a few short days ago was our companion in the business activities 
of our courts ; he, whose mind and heart were earnestly and diligently 
engrossed in the causes of action of our people, administering justice 
between them, has left us beyond recall. The hand we grasped with 
cordiality and friendship lies limp and pulseless ; the light of those 
eyes that interested and attracted us has faded and the lids have closed 
upon them in eternal sleep ; the tongue that voiced to us words of 
amusement, instruction and wisdom has been hushed in the impen- 
etrable silence of the tomb ; all that was physical of our late companion 
and presiding officer has been laid away in the bosom of the old and 
mysterious earth ; all that was sj^iritual of the man, the patriot, the 
statesman, the jurist, Joel Parker, has winged its flight to the arms 



JOEL PARKER. 89 

of the omnipotent and merciful Creator. It is befitting, then, that we 
pause ; that we put on these emblems and tokens of mourning and 
sorrow as we bow l^efore the Divine dispensation that has stricken 
down before us this distinguished character. It is befitting, too, that 
as he was wont to do justice to others, we do the same justice to him 
by a true and proper estimate of his life and character. Joel Parker 
was a gentleman, talented, courteous, courageous, considerate, meek, 
yet dignified. As a man he was an affectionate and indulging husband 
and father, a true friend and a charitable neighbor. He inspired his 
home with dignity, honor and virtue. As a citizen he was a true 
patriot ; elevated to oflices of trust by his fellows, he was an honorable 
Legislator, a wise Governor and an impartial Jurist, inspiring in his 
State a love for law, loyalty and true liberty. New Jersey has been 
honored and benefitted by his life and services. It is ours of this 
Commonwealth to claim the pride of his birth, his career and his rest- 
ing place; yet his fame and influence became national and world-wide. 
His memory will be kept green by the present generation of Jersey- 
men and History will point with unerring finger to the name of Joel 
Parker as a star of the first magnitude in New Jersey's brilliant con- 
stellation of illustrious sons and citizens. 

Judge Glasgow said it is difficult to express in w^ords the feeling of 
the court. Judge Parker was an eminent man and the sunlight of his 
public life was never shadowed or darkened by any clouds of impar- 
tiality or dishonesty. His hospitality knew no bounds. No sculptor 
ever need immortalize Judge Parker. 

The resolutions presented by the connnittee were then unanimously 
adopted by a rising vote and the meeting adjourned. 



CAMDEN, 



At a meeting of the Bar of Camden County, held January 7th, 18SS, 
Mr. Thomas H. Dudley presiding, the committee appointed at a pre- 
vious meeting to draft resolutions in reference to the death of Judge 
Parker, presented the following through their chairman, ]Mr. Samuel 
H. Grey : 

The sudden death on IMonday, Januarj'' 2d, of Hon. Joel Parker, one 
of the Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, who for nearly 
eight years past has presided over the courts of this countv, again 
admonishes us of the uncertain tenure by which we hold our lives. 
Judge Parker, in all his relations with our bar and its various mem- 
bers was kind, considerate and courteous. His nature was simple; his 
disposition most amiable and sympathetic; his manner engaging; his 
industry great, and his sagacity amazing. He was essentiallj' a laborer 
and had the capacity for sturdy work and systematic energy w^ithout 
which the highest talent is ineffective to accomplish great results. As 



90 MEMORIAL OF 

a public man and a party leader Judge Parker's personal qualities, 
allied to a thorough knowledge of affairs, and especially of the political 
affinities and tendencies of the people of this State, made of him, while 
active politics engaged his attention, an irresistible political force. He 
never abused or betrayed, but, until the hour of his death he retained 
and enjoyed, as only those who are conscious of faithful public service 
could enjoy, the undiminished confidence of the people of New Jersey. 
As the Governor of this State, at a time when the safety of the Nation 
Mas imperilled. Judge Parker by his patriotic energy, his unceasing in- 
dustry and his resolute purpose to sustain the government, Avon the 
admiration of his countrymen, and received the personal thanks of 
that great American, Abraham Lincoln. Although an ardent partizan 
in the use of all proper means to advance his party's success, his first 
care when in office was to serve the State. As a judge he was pains- 
taking, faithful and sagacious. His strong common sense supplied his 
judgments with qualities which distinguished them as judicial deliver- 
ances. This bar, here assembled to do honor to his memory, desires 
to place upon the minutes of the Courts of this county this memorial 
and to that end 

Resolved, That the presiding officer of this meeting present to the 
Circuit Court of this county, at its first meeting, this minute and request 
that it be entered on the records of the Court as a testimonial of the 
esteem in which Judge Parker was held by his professional brethren 
of this bar, and that a copy of these i)roceedings, duly authenticated, 
be furnished to Mrs. Parker. 

Samuel H. Grey, 

David J. Pancoast, 

Peter L. Voorhees, - Committee. 

Charles G. Garrison, 

Marmaduke B. Taylor, 



After the presentation of the resolutions remarks were made by 
several members of the Bar, a portion of which have been quoted by 
Major Yard in the preceding biographical sketch. Further selections 
are herewith appended. 

Mr. Philip S. Scovel : I move that the resolution be adopted, and 
in doing so, as one of the members of this Bar, I desire to speak as to 
the personal worth of the deceased Judge of this Court. I heartily 
endorse every word that our committee has put forth in this report, 
and I think that it fully sets forth the characteristic points of Judge 
Parker, and believe that every member of the Bar will agree with me. 
The first time that I recollect seeing Judge Parker was in 1857. I had 
then just commenced the practice of the law in Monmouth county, 
and at the next term of the court I was present when James P. Don- 
nelly was indicted for the murder of Albert S. Moses, at the High- 



I 



JOEL PARKER. 91 

lands. The chairman of this committee well remembers that this was 
a remarkable case, and one that excited a great deal of attention not 
only in this State but in other States. The most able and competent 
legal counsel were employed in the case ; if I recollect right Judge 
Dayton assisted Joel Parker in the prosecution of that case. The trial 
occupied a great deal of the time and attention of the court. The case 
was carried up to the higher courts, and its record covers many pages 
in the reports. This was about the first time that I had occasion to 
see and know Joel Parker, and one of the first things that struck my 
attention was the great respect and reverence he manifested toward 
the court ; he accepted with grace and dignity the rulings of the court ; 
he was not dogmatic or pertinacious, but he appeared at all times 
willing to accept the rulings of the court. Subsequently to this occa- 
sion I met him at two different times when he was the opposing 
counsel. I particularly remember one case at Toms Kiver, when 
Judge Elmer, in the absence of the usual Circuit Judge, occupied the 
Bench. The case occupied three days, and I there found in my first 
contest with Judge Parker that he was truly an honorable man. He 
was not disposed to technicalities in the trial of causes, but was 
opposed to technicalities as counsel and judge. His chief desire 
seemed to be to try a case upon its merits, and he tried and argued a 
case before the court with all due respect to the court and the counsel. 
We all know that Judge Parker was an aspirant for honor and dis- 
tinction. It was a great quality in him, and it should be our desire to 
aspire to stations of honor and distinction, especially when we follow 
the course that Judge Parker pursued. As a politician he resorted to 
no low or contemptible means. He was above all that ; he studied to 
carry his purposes by honorable means, and scorned to do anything 
that was contemptible or beneath the dignity of an honorable man. 
He was faithful in his positions, he was true to the people, and that 
is what made him what he was. This is what made him a popular 
man and a popular candidate before the people. It was because of 
these firm and substantial elements in his character, which constitute 
true manhood, that when he was a candidate for office, the people 
with overwhehning majorities attested their willingness to endorse 
these facts. I will not say that Judge Parker was perhaps as learned as 
some of his associates upon the Bench, but I believe that as these 
resolutions have stated, he was "a painstaking man — a careful man," 
and he gave his opinions with great deliberation and care, after 
mature thought and severe investigation. That is the way he was 
assured his success. He was kind and courteous to all ; whether in 
the street, upon the Bench, or wherever he was, he was a man that we 
could approach — he was always pleasant and a man who reached the 
hearts of the people. In that great heart of his there was a large 
reservoir of the milk of human kindness which flowed out freely to 
every citizen in this State. I do not wonder that when he was sud- 



92 MEMORIAL OF 

denly stricken down so many men high in office as well as humble 
citizens of the State, followed him to the grave and wished to attest 
their last respect and honor to that Judge who presided here in our 
midst, and who has been twice Governor of this State. I do not 
wonder that the Capitol of the State is draped in mourning. It is 
right that we should drape this court house also in emblems of 
mourning, and that we should pay our respects to the memory of this 
man who has done us so much good, and with whom we have all 
held such genial intercourse. * * * 

]Mr. Christopher A. Bergen ; * * * Judge Parker was the 
idol of the State of New Jersey. * * * jjg -yy^^g emphatic- 
ally a politician. I say emphatically, because for forty years he was 
in political life. A meeting of the Bar of Camden county is no occa- 
sion upon Avhich to do him an injustice. * * * He was a 
politician not in the low sense in which men may be politicians, but 
in the higher and more exalted sense in which a man as a member of 
the community acts in the interests of his fellow-citizens for the 
Avelfare and weal of the State. Such a man was Judge Parker, whether 
we find him as at first in the Legislature of New Jersey, or afterwards 
as Attorney General or as Governor of the State, or as Judge upon the 
Bench ; in whatever position of trust, if we examined the why and 
wherefore he acted we would find the secret motives to spring from 
one source, a desire to do right, patriotically and for the good of the 
citizen. His view was not circumscribed by narrow limits. He saw 
the wliole State and all its conditions of life at a glance. His finger 
was naturally upon the public pulse, and his discernment was so 
acute that it anticipated its needs. Public sentiment to him became 
almost an instinct. * * * Many lessons are to be drawn 
from his private life. We have seen him in the domestic circle, the 
home circle, and home was his joy and happiness. All the lessons 
of his life should lead us to serve the State and Family in the highest 
sense of the citizen. 

Mr. John W. Wartman : In arising to second this motion I deem 
it meet that I should contribute my mite, my unpretentious testimony, 
to the private character of our departed Judge. His public life and 
doings con-<titute the most important part of the history of our State 
for the last quarter of a century. It is unnecessary that I should 
attempt to portray to you the glories of his achievements ; they 
are fresh in the minds of all of us. Unlike many of the patriots and 
public spirits of the past, he was appreciated in his day and genera- 
tion. Volumes of praise from thousands of tongues were uttered of 
him, and of all that was said nothing but good was spoken ; and in 
order that it be so it was not necessary to invoke that rule of ancient 
philosophy, that "Naught but good should be said of the dead ;" it 
was the spontaneous expression of the irrepre:^sible truth. I will not 



JOEL PARKER. 93 

tarry on his public life, but it is of his private life that I propose to 
speak. When I heard that the " pale faced messenger " had extended 
his cold hand to touch him, whom I may say I have some reason to 
call my friend, I was overwhelmed ; a cloud appeared to raise over my 
very existence, that such an event should usher in the year. A score 
of recollections sprung unbidden to my mind, nor if I could would I 
have been disposed to crowd them out ; they came from the most 
commendable impulses of the human heart — from gratitude. Did I 
say " He was my friend?" Ah, yes. He Avas my friend. And my 
experience with human nature leads me to the belief that " AVe shall 
not soon see his like again." Nor do I pretend that I alone stood the 
recipient of his favors. He made no distinction, and if any distinc- 
tions were made they were the result of circumstances. His acts of 
kindness and charity were not exclusive. He dispensed his charity 
and performed his acts of hospitality and philanthropy with a happy 
faculty. He alwaj'S helped the right person at just the right time. 
I would ask who, under the broad expanse of heaven, more needs a 
word of encouragement than the poor, unknown, but eager and ambi- 
tious straggler at the law ? No one. But Judge Parker was ever ready 
to encourage ; his own convenience was of little moment, if he saw 
that a friendly turn was necessary and necessary at once, he did it at 
any cost ; and how cheerfully ! I confess I could not account for the 
many sacrifices that he would make to help those whom he thought 
needed and deserved help, unless it was that the recollections of the 
struggles of his earlj' life were fresh in his mind, and the)'' must needs 
have been as fresh as though it had been yesterday that he had strug- 
gled, his bounty flowed so full and free. I declare this to have been 
the key to his success ; endowed with unusual sagacity, directed by 
the purest impulses of the heart, having acquired a knowledge of 
human nature, he was a power in influencing men. His life has been 
valuable to his country and worthy of memory to his brethren. My 
theory of his success in life is, that he must have pursued this course 
through his earlier life and thus carried about him men who loved 
and honored him, and growing strong and numerous about him they 
made him their leader. * * * We all respected him and 
lament his loss. As for myself, I loved and honored him while he 
lived, and now that he is dead I shall love and honor his memory as 
long as I shall live. I believe all of us can unite with one accord 
and say, 

'• His life was gentle, and the elements 

So mixed in him, that nature might stand up 

And say4;o all the world ' this was a man.' " 

Mr. Charles G. Garrison : To judge aright the life of any man, it is 
necessary that we know the tests to which that life has been exposed ; 
indeed, without this knowledge the relative worth of men's characters 
could not be estimated. For what a man is at any given point in his 



I 



94 MKMOJilAL OF 

cancer, in fU) far aH it ig to be oreditc-d to him as- an honor, dei>end8 
upon the Heverity of t}ie tertH through which he haj- j^as.'^id in reaching 
where he fitands. In judging of the character of Joel Parker there is 
nothing more significant tfian the fact that he has in his career had 
applied to him all of the severer tegta by which men in public life 
can l>e tried, and under which ho many have lamentably fallen. 
Entering into pos^itione of public truj^tH at an early period of his life, 
and continuing to fulfil various and res-ponsible officcH to the time of 
hiH <](i'dth, lie exhibits the remarkable and honorable spectacle of a 
man who has successfully withstood not one line of temptation only, 
but every fonn in which ambition or avarice can make itself attrac- 
tive ; not only have his hands never ?>een stained in financial transac- 
tions, but the more insidious temptations c/>nnect<id with great 
public corjxjrations and their encroachments upon the public rights 
have never induced him to swer\-e from the line of his duty ; and in 
an age when every day recounts the fall of men whose opportunities 
to aggrandize themselves are far l(#s than his, it is refreshing to 
dwell ujKjn a life so long si>ent in succe-sfuUy withstanding thos-e 
t/jmptations which seem Ht) irresistible to so large a numbr-r of public 
officers. He has n\Hf> withstood tlie great tests of power and success, 
not only continuing to hold the one in spite of the other, but never 
using wrongfully the power which was given to him, to wrongfully 
injure the success which as an honorable, ambitious man he must 
have desired. Another test has come to him which seldom comes to 
a man : It so hapfK.-ns that owing to the period of the war and hie 
connection with it, lie has lived to see himself bw;ome an historical 
figure ; and the eye of history and the hand which writes it, with all 
of its tendencies to condemn the motives of actors in a public scene, 
has not been able truthfully to find in him and in his public relation- 
whips anything but what was praiseworthy. To be able thus U) resist 
HO many forms of temptation in public life indicates that which was 
the crowning merit of the character of Judge Parker, and that is com- 
plete symmetry. * * * 

Mr. Samuel II. Grey : It had not been my purjjose to address tin's 
meeting, because the resolution which has been offered and is now 
under consideration has fully expressed the estimation in which I 
hold the character of our departed friend. It may, however, be proper 
to make s^^rne reference to one essential quality in his character, 
which as it was illustrated by his life remains to us not only as a 
memory of him but as an examj^le that might be taken home by each 
anrl all fjf us as a govf-rning principle of our professional action — he 
was faitliful in the diw;liarge of duty. It is ea.sy, Mr. Chairman, to 
express one's feeling of tender sensibility at the death of a friend in 
well-set phrases or in sounding sentences, but it is the character of the 
dead illustrated by the conduct during life which is a legacy left 



JOEL PARKER. 95 

behind. " Death enters by a thousand doors to let out life," and he 
only is ready for the summons who faithfully discharges the obliga- 
tions laid upon him. Such only is entitled at the end of his career to 
receive the reward of faithful service. From the lips of Judge Parker 
I remember this as the thought which sustained him, as the expres- 
sion of that feeling which he most fully appreciated, the commenda- 
tion which he received from all quarters during his career as Gover- 
nor in the trying time to which you have referred ; it was Judge 
Parker's secret pride, expressed in confidential words to confidential 
friends, that while he held public office he exercised his power for the 
public good to the best of his judgment. With one exception he 
appointed more judges than any other Governor of New Jersey ; he 
made his appointments without political discrimination or favoritism. 
He commissioned more officers during the war than any other Gov- 
ernor could have done ; he never issued a commission, he never 
recognized a claim upon executive consideration for promotion, unless 
it was predicated upon personal services to the State and to the 
Nation in active service. * * * 

Mr. Thomas H. Dudley ; * * * The confidence reposed 
in Joel Parker by Governor Olden (in his appointment as Major- 
General) was not misplaced ; it was fully sustained in every way. 
Joel Parker was true, he was honest and loyal. He undertook the 
work and he did it. He rallied as many if not more men than any 
other man in the State around the standard for the defense of his 
country, and it was that act and his conduct in organizing the militia 
to put down the Rebellion, more than any other one thing, that made 
him Governor of the State. Nothing did so much to add to his popu- 
larity, or is more worthy of praise. I mention this, and hold it up to 
your view as a bright example for 3'ou all to imitate and follow. * 

* * He was patriotic and gave his hands and heart to the 
work. He did his duty and did it well, and the people sustained him 
and afterwards rewarded him for it. It is that which adds more lustre 
to his name and fame than any other one act of his life ; in my judg- 
ment, all the others are insignificant to it. When he came to occupy 
the Executive Chair, he followed in the same patriotic line the 
course that he had followed M'hen he was appointed to organize the 
militia. He was true and loyal to the State and the country, and the 
oath of office he had taken, and did all that he could as Governor to 
uphold the arms of the Government, to maintain the Union and put 
down the Rebellion. For this he is entitled to all honor and all 
credit ; and his conduct will be remembered and his name cherished 
so long as our free institutions remain. * * * 

CAMDEN COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION. 

At a special meeting of the Camden County Bar Association, held 
January 4th, 1888, the following resolutions were adopted : 



96 MEMORIAL OF 

Resolved, That the members of the Camden County Bar Association, 
deeply impressed by the many good qualities and acquirements and 
patriotic and honored life of the Honorable Joel Parker, late Justice 
of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and Judge of the Circuit Court 
of this county, deplore the decree inevitable which has removed him 
from his place of usefulness, dignity and honor. 

Resolved, That this Association attend the funeral of the deceased at 
Freehold on Fridaj' next. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the family 
of the deceased. 

B. F. H. Shkeve, Secretary. 



(iLOUCESTER. 

At a meeting of the Gloucester County Bar, held on January 5, 1888, 
a committe of five was appointed to draft suitable resolutions upon 
the death of His Honor, Joel Parker, and report at a meeting to be 
held on January 31, 1888. 

On January 31, 1888, an adjourned meeting of the. Bar was held with 
Judge Alfred Reed presiding, Wm. Moore, Esq., acting secretary : 

When Mr. Belmont Perry, in behalf of the committee, in a few well 
chosen remarks moved the adoption of the following resolutions, 
which motion was unanimously carried and the meeting adjourned : 
Whereas it has pleased Divine Providence to remove by death the 
Hon. Joel Parker, the late Presiding Judge of the Courts of this 
county, from that sphere which his eminent ability and upright- 
ness of character so much adorned ; be it 

Resolved, That the Bench and Bar of Gloucester County tender to his 
family their sincere condolence and join them in their sorrow, and 
while recording their appreciation of the eminent worth of Judge 
Parker's life as a citizen, desire to testify to their regard for his staunch 
integrity and manly courage and wisdom in public stations, recogniz- 
ing in him one of the truest of men, a ruler who could afford to do 
right under every circumstance, and a Judge without guile and above 
reproach. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be entered upon the minutes of the 
Court and a copy of the same be forwarded to the family of Judge 
Parker. 

John S. Jessup, 1 

Belmont Perry, | 

Leamixg Matlack, {- Connnittee. 

Wm. Moore, 

a. h. swackhamer, 



JOEL PARKER. 97 



ESSEX. 

The Es-fex County Bar met Thursday, January 5th, 1888, to take 
action upon the death of Judge Joel Parker. Judge Depue presided, 
and among those attending were Judges Kirkpatrick, Johnson and 
Goeken, ex-Chancellor Runyon, Courtlandt Parker, W. B. Guild, Jr., 
A. Q. Keasbey, ex-Judges Ludlow McCarter and Stevens, Louis Hood, 
Carl Lentz, J. E. Emery and others. Messrs. Runyon, Parker, Guild, 
Keasbey, and Ludlow McCarter, the committee appointed to draft a 
suitable memorial, reported as follows : 

The death of the Honorable Joel Parker is an event in regard to 
which the Essex Bar feel it their privilege to take action. He was 
twice Governor of the State, and his first term occurred during the 
Civil "War, so that it was especially full of opportunity and responsibil- 
ity. He was afterwards for a short time Attorney-General and later 
still he was a Judge of the Supreme .Court ; as such he was ex-officio a 
Judge of the Circuit Court of this county, and though he never actual- 
ly presided here, he was in Supreme Court, and in the Court of Ap- 
peals, well known to us all. In all the public posts he occupied, he 
displayed the same qualities, riglit-mindedness, a large measure of in- 
dependence, genial good-heartedness, sound judgment, intense in- 
dustry. He was eminently a lover of his fellow men, and therefore, 
l^robably was it that so many of his fellow men loved him. He goes 
to his grave, mourned as few others have been or will be. His was 
the merit of a full use of all that his Maker gave him. His life has 
been the most useful of examples. He will long be both missed and 
regretted. 

Resolved, That a copy of this minute be presented to the Circuit Court 
with a request that it be entered upon its minutes ; that one be sent to 
the widow and family of the deceased, and published in the journals 
of this city. 

ESSEX CIRCUIT COURT. 

The foregoing minvite, as a resolution, having been presented in open 
Court, it is ordered that the same be entered in the minutes of the 
Court. 

It is further ordered that the Court stand adjourned over until 
Saturday morning, that the Court and the members of the Bar may 
attend the funeral of the deceased. 

In presenting these resolutions, Mr. Chairman, said ex-Chancellor 
Runyon, I will say a few words on the subject. We have met as mem 
bers of the Bar to speak of the loss we have in the profession sustained 
in the death of Joel Parker. The great sense of the people has caused 
the greater part of his life to be spent in public places. His was an 
eventful life, as suggested in the resolutions which I have read. He 
was Governor at a critical period in the history of America, and he 
did his duty to the advantage of the whole country. He filled the 



98 MEMORIAL OF 

high places he was called to -well. His fidelitj' was known to all. His 
honesty of methods and of purpose were well recognized. He main- 
tained the right by direct methods and all others were foreign to his 
nature. No man more honored his State than did Joel Parker. How- 
ever partisanship might rage all men were satisfied, because they knew 
there was an honest hand at the helm and the ship of State would not 
go wrong. As a lawyer we knew him here, and as a judge, in which 
position he was equally successful. That sturdy common sense, that 
desire for the right, was specially shown here. His brethren relied 
upon his judgment and honored his decisions. With regard to his as- 
sociation with his brother members of the bar, he was just to his 
clients and indefatigable in their interests. His clients got his best 
efforts. He bore himself nobly in public and private. In State and 
National matters he was always the upright, faithful, honorable citizen. 
His patriotism was of the highest and best kind. He has gone to his 
grave. He has left us a noble example of a man discharging every 
duty with fidelity ; a man who was above all reproval, going to his 
grave mourned by the whole country. " The memory of the just is 
blessed." 

Mr Cortlandt Parker said : So much has been already said that 
is applicable to the deceased that I hesitate to say more. I had a very 
long acquaintance with him, never interrupted by anything unpleas- 
ant ; always finding him, although of different sentiments to myself, 
friendly, charitable, kind. Joel Parker goes, leaving behind him a 
useful example to the old and young. No one will differ from the 
sentiment that Joel Parker made full use of all the faculties which his 
Maker gave him. That is a high praise. He did not astonish with 
brilliancy. His were planetary and not comet-like movements. He 
did nothing hastily, it was not a part of his nature, but with time and 
thought. When he did act, he satisfied the judgment of all right think- 
ing men. Sound judgment was his great attribute. What is some- 
times called horse sense, strong sense, was his, the result of patient re- 
flection. I appeal to his brethren in the land if this were not so, and 
I am sure it will be agreed to by the bar. His was a character marked 
by strong sense, sound judgment and careful, patient thought before 
action, and if a man used carefully these attributes given to him by 
God, what higher praise can he have, especially when he unites with 
them a good moral character? When you say that his political op- 
ponents never ascribed to him anything that was reprehensible, you 
say enough. He goes to the grave with the universal regret, notwith- 
standing his length of days, of all who knew him. Men cannot all be 
great ; not all can climb the steps and carve their names around the 
summit ; but they can be good, love their kind and return the affection 
they inspire. Every young man, when he starts in life, can hope to 
come to as noble an end as the one we go to mourn to-morrow. 

Mr. W. B. Guild said : It sometimes hai^pens upon occasions like 



JOEL PARKER. 99 

this that he who would speak of the dead so as not to offend the 
living must come with carefully prepared words. It is not so now. 
Respecting the character and the public and private life of Joel Par- 
ker, all who knew him can speak without hesitation or restraint. 
The sadness of his death is lightened, and almost lost in view of a life 
such as was his. As to the nobleness of that life, its usefulness to this 
State and to the Nation, it is not necessary to speak here or elsewhere 
in New Jersey. For many years past no man in this State has been 
better known. His name has been as a household word, and his 
deeds are historic. The uprightness of his life gave to him years ago 
the appellation of " Honest Joel Parker," and being really such, he 
had the confidence and affection of the people of this State to a degree 
that was unequalled by any other. He has died after a long life well 
spent. Upon his native State he has left an enduring impress of his 
own high character. His successful life beautifully illustrates the 
advantage of honest living and acting, whether in public or private 
life, and teaches a lesson to the young and to all that should be last- 
ing. His name and his memory will be enrolled among those that 
are imperishable. 

Ex-Judge McCarter referred to the grand nature of the deceased, 
and to his lovable qualities. He was, he said, a typical American. 
He loved his State, and so lived as to command the respect of all men, 
even of his enemies. He had also intense love for his country. The 
speaker referred to the prominent part he took in raising the Mon- 
mouth Battle Monument to perpetuate the memory of the men who 
fell there. No history of the State, he said, could be written truth- 
fully which did not commemorate the acts of Joel Parker. He also 
spoke of the letter of thanks written by President Lincoln to Gov- 
ernor Parker for his services during the war. 

Mr. Samuel Kalisch and Major Carl Lentz followed. The latter 
spoke in eulogistic terms of the deceased for his care and forethought 
for the men away from home, at the front, in the war of the Rebellion. 

Judge Dei^ue then put the resolutions before the meeting and 
they were formally passed. In issuing the order of the court 
that the resolutions be placed on the minutes, he said : For me to 
speak of Joel Parker to my own satisfaction would be difficult. I 
knew him from the time I came to the Bar, and for seven years have 
sat as his associate on the Bench. My relations with him have been of 
the closest description. I saw him last Friday at a conference of 
length. He had precisely those qualities which have been attributed 
to him by other speakers. He came always prepared. He produced 
more manuscript than any one else of his brethren in the court, show- 
ing his great desire to do justice. His integrity and faithfulness in 
the performance of every duty were unequalled. He was connected 



L.ofC. 



100 MEMORIAL OF 

with the affairs of the State from the time he was a young man and 
never made a mistake, or if he did, it is forgotteri. 

A notice was then given that the Bar would attend the funeral at 
Freehold to-day, and that a special train with a special car for the 
members of the Bar would leave the Central Depot at 9 o'clock this 
morning. Court was then adjourned. 



PASSAIC. 



Judge Dixon, in the Passaic Circuit Court, paid a high tribute to the 
memory of the late ex-Governor Parker, and ordered the following 
placed in the minutes : 

Hon. Joel Parker, one of the Associate Justices of the Supreme 
Court, having died January 2d, inst., and his funeral being appointed 
to take place to-morrow, it is, on this 5th day of January, A. D. 1888, 
ordered that this Court stand adjourned until Monday, the 9th inst., 
at 10 A. M., in testimony of the distinguished public services rendered 
by him in both the executive and the judicial departments of the State 
Government. 



UNION. 



Circuit Court of the County of Union, Jield at the Court House, in 
the city of Elizabeth, on Tuesday, the third day of January, in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight, Mr. 
Justice Bennett YanSyckel presiding. 

Prosecutor Wilson announced the death of Judge Joel Parker and 
moved that the Court adjourn for the day, and that a committee be 
appointed to draft resolutions of respect to his memory. The Court 
granted the motion and appointed Messrs. R. V. Lindabury, Joseph 
Alward and James R. English a committee. 

On Thursday, January 5th, 1888, the aforesaid committee reported 
to the Court in open session the following resolutions : 

TO THE UNION COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT : 

The undersigned, appointed in open Court to present resolutions ex- 
pressing the respect of the Court and Bar for the memory of Joel Par- 
ker, and their sorrow for his death, report : 

With sorrow we record that at the beginning of the year Justice 
Joel Parker died. The Courts of Union County have adjourned to 
show their respect to his memory. The Bar of Union County unite 
with the Justice of the Supreme Court holding this Circuit, and the 
other members of the Courts of this county, in mourning the loss of 



JOEL PARKER. 101 

one of New Jersey's noblest sons. In life the State honored him as 
it honored no other of its citizens. He was twice elected Governor 
of the State, was appointed Attorney-General, and was twice appoint- 
ed Justice of the Supreme Court. The fidelity and ability with which 
he has filled every position in life to which he has been called is 
shown by the universal approval of his acts. The true greatness of 
his character was shown, as Governor of New Jersey, from 1863 to 1866. 
Amidst the commotion and bitter strife of civil war he was eminently 
loyal to the general government and at the same time firm to protect 
the interests of the people and State he governed. As a Justice of the 
Highest Courts of this State he was respected for his learning, ability 
and integrity. In every position he was courteous, generous and 
sagacious. Added to these traits and more prominent than all others, 
were integrity and kindness. To these characteristics may be attrib- 
uted his success and his usefulness. We can truly say we love to 
honor his name and imitate his virtues. 

Resolved, That we unite with the citizens of New Jersey in mourning 
the loss of this excellent man. 

Joseph Alward, 

Richard Y. Lindabury, 
James R. English. 
In presenting the resolutions ]Mr. Alward said : The Court will 
permit me to add : It is pleasant to review the entire life of Governor 
Parker. As a member of the bar he was highly esteemed by his 
brethren. As a ruler and a Judge he had the confidence of the people. 
As a political! he was respected. He has left a memory of which his 
friends may well be proud and which his family may esteem a rich in- 
heritance. 

Mr. Lindaburj' said that for himself and the Bar of the County at 
large he desired to add a word to the formal resolutions of the Com- 
mittee. He said : Judge Parker was held in high esteem in this coun- 
ty, not only by his professional brethren, but also by the people of all 
classes and conditions. He was everywhere regarded as a rare pub- 
lic servant. He discharged the duties of Chief Executive of the State, 
during the most trying times through which we have ever passed, with 
an ability and discretion that won the applause of the whole country 
and reflected honor upon his State. On the bench of the Supreme 
Court he showed the same qualities of good sense and sound judgment 
that had characterized his performance of the duties of Chief Execu- 
tive. Indeed, as Judge, he showed a most marked ability for discern- 
ing the real right of a cause and for disentangling that from legal ob- 
scurity and technicality and making it the judgment of the Court. It 
is enough to say that by the learning which he exhibited, by the 
soundness of his judgment and by the integrity of his character. Judge 
Parker proved his right to a seat upon the bench of the highest Court 
of the State. But his most striking traits were his simplicity and the 



102 MEMORIAL OF 

homely honesty of his character. It was for these he -was most be- 
loved. His garments were, indeed, without a stain, and his life was a 
worthy examjjle to the young men of the County and State, and his 
memory a precious legacy to us all. 

Upon the conclusion of Mr. Lindaburj^'s remarks, Judge VanSyckel 
said : Judge Parker has, for more than a quarter of a century, occupied 
so conspicuous a position in the afi'airs of this State that it is eminent- 
ly proper this tribute should be paid to his memory. I fully concur 
in everything that has been said in his praise. Judge Parker has filled 
the most distinguished positions in the gift of the people of his State, 
and he has discharged the duties of every position in which he has 
been placed in such a way as to deserve and to wan the confidence and 
esteem of the people. In his death a great loss has fallen upon the 
State, and he will long be remembered as one of her purest, best and 
most distinguished sons. 

Judge YanSyckel then ordered that the resolutions be entered on 
the minutes of the Court and a copy sent to the family of the deceased 
and to the public press. 



CIVIC AND MILITARY SOCIETIES. 



RESOLUTIONS OF THE JOEL PARKER ASSOCIATION OF NEWARK. 

AVhereas the Great Giver of life and death has seen fit in His inscru- 
table providence to remove from earth our patron and friend, Judge 
Joel Parker, therefore be it 

Resolved, That we, the members of the Joel Parker Association of 
Newark, in common with all the people of the State, deplore the death 
of the great and good man, whose life was so pure and useful, and 
whose integrity of purpose made him a shining light amongst good 
men and great amongst the greatest. As a citizen. Governor, Judge, or 
friend, he was always to be trusted, and to those who knew him, his 
sentiments or principles were never doubtful. We knew him well 
and as we kneAV him we revered him ; and now that he has passed to 
that reward vouchsafed to all good men we mingle our tears with those 
of his bereaved family at his sudden demise. 

Rewired, That the rooms of this Association be approi)riately draped 
in mourning, that the As-ociation attend the obsequies in a body, and 



li 



JOEL PARKER. 103 

that these rcsokitions be published in the dailj' papers of this city, and 
an engrossed copy, signed by the officers, be sent to the surviving 
family. 

(Signed) Wm. H. Browx, President. 

Michael T. Barrett, Vice President. 
Manning Force, Recording Secretary. 
Newark, N. J., January 2, 1888. 

A copy of the above resolutions, beautifully engrossed and bound, 
was presented to Mrs. Parker by the Association. 



SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI, 

Extract from the Proceedings of The Society of the Cincinnati in the 
State of New Jersey, at their Annual Meeting held at Princeton, N. 
J., 4th July, 1888. 

The Honorable Joel Parker was elected an Honorary Member of 
this Society on the 4th July, 1879. He was born near Freehold, Mon- 
mouth County, on the 24th November, 1816 ; graduated at Princeton in 
1839 and was admitted to the bar in 1842. Elected to the General As- 
sembly in 1847 ; was Prosecutor of the Pleas of Monmouth County 1852 
to 1857, and Presidential Elector in 1860. Was Brigadier-General, 
Commanding the Monmouth and Ocean Brigade of Militia from 1857 
to 1861 and in 1861 took command as Major-General of the Division, 
comprising the counties of INIercer, Middlesex, ]Monmouth, Ocean and 
Union. In 1862 he Avas elected Governor of the State, and again in 1871, 
being the only one ever x-e-elected Governor under the Constitution of 
1844. In 1872 received from Rutgers College the honorary degree of 
Doctor of Laws. In 1880 was appointed Associate Justice of the 
Supreme Court of New Jerse}^ which office he held until his death, on 
the 2nd January, 1888, while on a visit to Philadelphia. 

Resolved, That the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Jer- 
sey learn with much regret of the death of the Honorable Joel Parker. 
As Governor of this State during those trying times when even our 
National existence was imperilled ; and later, as an able and impartial 
Judge on the Supreme Bench of the State, his sturdy honesty and un- 
flinching patriotism deservedly earned the esteem and admiration of 
all his countrymen, and especially the citizens of his Native State and 
the members of this Society, of which he was an Honorary ]\Iember. 
As a mark of respect to his memory it is ordered that this resolution 
be spread upon the minutes. 

By Order, 

[l.s.] Clifford Stanlbv Sims, President. 

Fra's Barber Ogden, ^"ecretary. 



104 MEMORIAL OF 

ADDRESS BY B'VT. MA.J. GEX. WILLIAM SCUDDER STRYKER, AD.Tl'TAN'T- 
GEXERAL OF NEW JERSEY. 

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Society of the Cincinnati : 

" For honors and for weighty service, choose those whose virtues 
command the world's esteem and win the favor of heaven — the manly 
men who are the bulwark and glory of the Republic." 

This strong aphorism from some unknown writer shall furnish the 
theme for the very brief eulogistic paper Avhich I shall read to you to- 
day, and I shall, without hesitation and in strongest verity, apply the 
precept just expressed to the life and character of Joel Parker. Surely 
his virtues of heart and soul commanded the esteem of every Jersey- 
man and the high honors which his State bestowed, the weighty ser- 
vice he with great efficiency performed, was because he was one of 
those manly men who are in official life the bulwark of a country in 
the hours of war, and her glory in the days of peace. 

The personal character of Joel Parker may well be summed up in 
those strongly descriptive words — purity of heart, honesty of purpose, 
rectitude of life. Pope, in his moral essays, depicts the man in every 
act and labour of his eventful life : — 

" His hand iinstain'cl, his uucorriipt'd heart 
His compreheusive head all interests weigh'd." 

No love of place or power, tempting howsoever they might be, could 
stain his hand in doing anything his heart did not fully approve, and 
slowly, methodically, with a brain full of good, honest common sense, 
he weighed and weighed again every interest brought to his notice for 
judgment or for executive action. Never a moment in his life when 
he could not bring to any subject a sound and a correct decision, a 
proper degree of independence, a keen desire and a patient industry 
in the discovery of trutli, a close clinging to the truth and to right 
when once he had laid hold upon them. 

In official and in judicial life he was ever fearless Avhen he knew he 
was right. His manner of life was simple, yet attractive, and while 
his grand physique, his commanding presence, was impressive with 
dignity, yet he was always a genial man, easy of approach to the poor 
and the humble. In the little things of life he was interested as well 
as in the grave problems of statecraft, and so the people found him 
ever of a kindly disposition, alv/ays beneficent, a prudent counsellor, a 
model citizen. His nature was of the most sympathetic character, and 
distress and want always appealed with certainty to his means and to 
his efficient aid. 

Joel Parker was a true patriot. He loved New Jersey. He was 
proud, as no one else in his day was as proud, of her past historj- of 
great and learned men, of her soil, rich with the blood of our fore- 
fathers spilled on her great battle-fields, of her Avorld-wide reputation 
for the administration of justice. Himself a close student of history, 



JOEL PARKER. 105 

he imbibed lessons from the records of the past, and formed such 
opinions as served him well when he himself Avas called upon to help 
to make the history of his native State. The shaft which he, more 
than any one else, helped to erect on the heights of Monmouth to 
commemorate the fame of the men who fought so gallantly on that hot 
Sabbath in June, will ever remain as a memorial of the energy and the 
pure ])atriotism of this noble man. He loved his country. AVhile he 
often differed in the manner in which public affairs were conducted, 
and could himself point out, as appeared to him, a better, a safer and 
a more honorable way, and with great frankness he expressed his 
views, yet he all the while kept up an unfaltering devotion to and a 
confident hope of the unity of the republic. Through all the throes of 
civil war which tried his brain, his heart and his physical strength, he 
never deviated one jot from a firm and unswerving fidelity to the 
princiijles upon which the government had been founded, and on 
which our " strength, security and happiness as a nation " should be 
forever conserved. To preserve the Union, to win back the recalcitrant 
States, to restore a true and lasting peace, was end enough for him ; 
and questions of policy were quickly subordinated to his intense de- 
sire to bring an end to the war. 

Governor Parker was a pure statesman. He was strong with his 
party, and his mind was strongly imbued with the tenets of his pai-ty. 
He had been a close student and observer of political conflicts, and 
from his youth he had labored with zeal for the success of doctrines 
which he believed would give us the best sj'stem of National Govern- 
ment. Keeping well before him the future good of his country, he was 
accustomed to lead that party in his State wherever and whenever he 
could in anj' way support its principles or advance its interests. He 
broke no promise which he ever made to those associated with him in 
political life. He lost no friend whom he had ever drawn to him by 
party ties as well as those of friendship. He was faithful to every offi- 
cial trust which his countrymen had given him to perform. His heart 
and his soul were true to everything which he wrote or which he 
spoke, and the people learned to love and confide in him. He was 
praised by all, even those who did not join him in his party affili- 
ations. Surely if Edmund Burke in his reflections on what constitutes 
a statesman, is coi'rect when he says : "A disposition to i>reserve and 
an ability to improve, taken together would be my standard of a states- 
man," then Joel Parker must he placed in the front rank of those Avho 
merit this proud title. Through all the long years of bitter civil strife 
he had the strong, unyielding desire to preserve the Union as given to 
us by our fathers, and in that critical period he evinced the great wis- 
dom and ready ability to plan and labour and perfect measures to pre- 
serve that Union. These qualifications, as Burke says, if " taken to- 
gether," constituted him a statesman. 

New Jersey and Jerseymen are proud of his pure name, they are 



106 MEMORIAL OF 

proud of liis sincere patriotism, they are proud of his good work in 
statesmanship, and through all the history of tlie Commonwealth his 
name Avill go down the ages as one who served his God and country 
well. 



MILITARY ORDER OF THE LOYAL LEGION OF THE UNITED 

STATES. 



Head-Quarters Commaxdery of the State of Pennsylvania, 

Philadelphia, March 6, 1888. 



} 



Eead at stated meeting of the Board of Officers, March 5, 1888. 

Joel Parker. — 

Elected October 20, 1886. Class 3. Insignia 4970. 

Born November 24, 1816, near Freehold, IMonmouth county, X. J. 

Died January 2, 1888, at Philadelphia, Pa. 

His parents were natives of the county of Monmouth. His mother 
was a daughter of Joseph Cowai-d, a soldier of the Revolution who 
had served in the Continental Line throughout that war. His father, 
Charles Parker, came of a family who were among the first settlers of 
Monmouth county, and was himself prominent in the aflsiirs of his 
county and State. 

Joel Parker removed with his ftither to Trenton in 1821, where he 
received his primary education ; afterwards attended the Lawrence- 
ville High School ; entered Princeton College ; graduated in 1839 and 
commenced the study of law at Trenton with Hon. Henry "W. Green, 
afterwards Chief-Justice and Chancellor. Was admitted to the Bar in 
1842, and located at Freehold, where he continued to reside until his 
death. 

In 1843 he married Maria ]M., eldest daughter of Samuel R. Gum- 
mere. 

In 1847 was elected to the General Assembly, and, although the 
youngest member of that body, took a leading part. 

Served as Prosecutor of the Pleas of ^lonmouth county from October 
28, 1852, to October 28, 1857. 

In 1860 was elected a Presidential P^lector, and cast his vote in the 
Electoral College for Stephen A. Douglas for President. 

He took a great interest in the aflairs of the militia, and from 1857 
to 1S61 was Brigadier-General commanding the ^Monmouth and Ocean 
Brigade of Militia. In 1861 he took command, as Major-General, of 
the Division of the New Jersey Militia in the counties of Mercer, 
Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union. In that position he pro- 
moted volunteering at the opening of the AVar of the Rebellion, and 
aided largely by his energy and influence in securing regiments of 
volunteers for the Union Arm v. 



JOEL PARKER. 107 

In 1862 he was elected Governor of New Jersey by a very large ma- 
jority of his fellow-citizens. His administration of that high office 
extended to the clo^e of the War of the Rebellion, and was distin- 
guished for its efficiency in aiding to maintain the cause of the Union 
by promoting volunteering after many of the States had submitted to 
conscription, and for the signal ability displayed in the management 
of the civil affairs of his State. 

Upon the invasion of the State of Pennsylvania by the Confederate 
Army under General Lee, in 1863, lie, at a critical moment, supplied 
several regiments on the appeal of Governor Curtin. His alacrity and 
energy then displayed called forth fi'om the jieople of Pennsylvania 
their warmest gratitude and praise. 

In 1871 he was again elected Governor, and after the expiration of 
his second term of that office he resumed the practice of his profession 
at Freehold. 

Was for a short time Attorney-General of the State. 
In 1880 he was appointed one of the Justices of the Supreme Court 
of New Jersey, which office he held at the time of his death. 

During his long and honorable career Governor Parker always 
manifested a firm determination to do his whole duty fearlessly and 
conscientiously. Occupying a high official station during the most 
perilous period of our Nation's history, he was always found equal to 
every emergency. 

Governor Parker was of a noble mould and of commanding pres- 
ence ; of a kindly and generous disposition ; an affectionate father 
and husl)and ; a faithful friend ; " a loyal, just and upright gentleman." 

S. M. DicKixsox, 

Acting Paymaster IT. S. Navy. 
W. J. Sewell, 

Brevet Major-General U. S. Vols. 
William S. Stryker. 

Brevet Lieut.-Colonel U. S. Vols. 
By command of Committee. 

Brevet Major-General D. Mc]\I. Gregg, V. S. V., 

Commander. 

JOHX P. NiCHOLSOX, 

Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel V. S. Y., 
Recorder. 



NEW .JERSEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

At the forty-third annual meeting of the New Jersey Historical So- 
ciety held at Trenton, N. J., January 24, 1888, the following memorial 
of Judge Parker was presented : 

On the second day of this year, 1888, departed tliis life, suddenly at 
Philadelphia, at the age of seventy-one, Hon. Joel Parker. He was 



108 MEMORIAL OF 

born in Monmouth county, Nov. 24, 1816, the son of Charles and 
Sarah S. (Coward) Parker, but spent the most of his early years in 
Trenton, where he studied law. He graduated at Princeton in 1839. 
After his course of study in the law, and his admission to the Bar, he 
removed to Freehold. In 1847, when he was thirty years of age, he 
was sent to the Assembly. He was soon after made Prosecu- 
tor of the Pleas for Monmouth. In 1862 he was elected Gov- 
ernor, and again elected in 1871. He was distinguished for learning, 
great executive abilitj', and integrity of character. In 1875 he was 
appointed Attornej'-General of the State. As War Governor he 
worthily sustained the National Government by placing all the 
resources of the State at its disposal, and guarded the interests of New 
Jersey men at home and in the field. In 1880 he was appointed Jus- 
tice of the Supreme Court, and again appointed iu 1887, which position 
he held to the time of his death. His breadth of mind, judicial 
impartiality, his unswerving honesty of purpose, as well as the clear- 
ness of liis judgment, made him what he was, a model executive, a 
just Judge, and a trusted citizen. Jersejanen instinctively turned to 
him, as his party did, in every time of stress and trouble. He became 
a member of the Historical Society in May, 1859, and was a member 
of its Executive Committee continuously for seventeen years. His 
public engagements were such that he was seldom present at its 
meetings ; but the Society relied none the less upon his efficient aid 
and counsel when the progress of its affairs needed his co-operation. 
He was an efficient member of the distinguished Committee of the 
Society whicli secured the publication, by the State, under the ausi^ices 
of the Historical Society, of the Documents relating to the Colonial 
History of New Jersey, now constituting the series of volumes of the 
New Jersey Archives. 



DEPARTMENT OF NEW JERSEY, (iRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. 

The Department of New Jersey, Grand Armj^ of the Republic, in 
annual Encampment assembled, desirous of placing on record their 
tribute to the memory of one of New Jersey's distinguished sons, 
adopt the following minute : 

That in the death of Joel Parker, the "War Governor of New Jersev 
this State has met with an almost irreparable loss. As old soldiers and 
as Grand Army comrades, we will cherish his memory, and hold in 
grateful recollection his services to the State, the General Govern- 
ment and New Jersey's troops. Unselfish, patriotic and devoted to 
the maintenance of the Union, no labors were too arduous and no 
sacrifices too great for him, if thereby the comfort of New Jersey 
soldiers could be increased. Called to the chief executive office during: 



JOEL PARKER. 109 

a time that tried every man of whatever sort he was, Joel Parker pass- 
ed through unscathed and left an example that all might do well to 
follow. That this minute be entered in full upon the records of this 
Encampment and that the Assistant Adjutant-General forward a copy 
to the family of the deceased. 

Passed at the twenty -first annual Encampment, Department of New 
Jersey, Grand Army of the Republic, held at Trenton, N. J., February 
9th, 1S88. H. L. Hartshorn, 

Assistant Adjutant-General. 



AARON WILKES POST, (i. A. R. 

At a regular meeting of Aaron AVilkes Post, No. 23, G. A. R., Depart- 
ment of New Jersey, the following resolutions were adopted : 

Whereas, The members of Aaron AVilkes Post, No. 23, G. A. R., De- 
partment of New Jersey, have learned with painful regrets of the 
sudden death of Hon. Joel Parker, New Jersey's renowned War 
Governor, be it 

Resolved, That in his death the ex-soldiers of this iState and the coun- 
try at large have lost a firm friend, who stood by them in the days of 
our countrj-'s greatest trial ; one whose sublime patriotism shone like 
a bright beacon light in the tempestuous storms that threatened the 
safety of our Union. 

ResolvecJ, That as a patriot, a faithful official, an upright Judge, and 
in all that goes to make an exemplary citizen, Joel Parker had no 
superior within the limits of this, and few equals in other States. 

Resolved, That we shall ever cherish his memory and his noble con- 
duct towards us and our comrades, and shall try to teach coming 
generations to emulate his example and to profit by his noble life of 
patriotism and devotion to flag and country. 

Resolved, That we tender to the widow and children of the late ex- 
Governor our sincere sympathy at the sudden loss of so noble and 
kind a husband and father. 

Resolved, That the flag of this Post be draped in mourning for the 
space of thirty days ; that these resolutions be spread in full upon a 
memorial page of our minutes ; that a copy be sent to the family of our 
departed friend, and that they be given to the press for publication. 

John P. Beach, 1 
John Hazlett, [ Committee. 
Tken-ton, N. J., Jan. 6, 188S. E. C. Stahl, J 



110 MEMORIAL OF 



COMMISSIONERS OF ADJUSTMENT OF TAXES. 

Camden, X. J., January 4, 1888. 

At a meeting of the Commissioners held this day, Commissioner 
Hood in an appropriate and feeling manner announced the death of 
Hon. Joel Parker, when the following preamble and resolutions were 
unanimously adopted : 
"Whereas, This Commission have learned with deep sorrow, of the 

sudden death of the Hon. Joel Parker, one of the Justices of the 

Supreme Court ; and whereas, said Commissioners were appointed 

by the said lamented Judge ; therefore, 

Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with the family of the deceased 
ex-Governor and Justice of the Supreme Court in their deep affliction, 
and sincerely deplore the great loss which they, in common Avith the 
whole people of New Jersey, have sustained in his sudden death. 

Resolved, That a copy of this preamljle and resolutions be engrossed 
and forwarded by our Clerk to the family of the deceased. 

John Hood, Pres't, 
Charles A. Bvtts, [ Commissioners. 
A true copy, Charles B. Coles, 

W. H. BiTTS. Clerk. 



GRAND L0D(4E, FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS OF NEW JERSEY. 

At the annual communication of the Grand Lodge, F. and A. M. of 
New Jersey, held in the city of Trenton, January 25, 1888, M. W. 
Eobert M. ]Moore, Grand ]Master, in his address to the brethren made 
the following reference to the death of ex-Governor Parker : 

Brother Joel Parker died January 2d, 1888. He was born in 1816, 
made a Mason in Olive Branch Lodge in April, 1857. Served as one of 
its Stewards in 1875, 1876, 1877. Served his State as Major-General, 
Attorney-General, and as Governor, to which high office he Avas twice 
elected — a rare honor in New Jersey — and at the time of his death was 
one of the Honorable Justices of our Supreme Court. He was repeat- 
edly received in this Grand Lodge, his Brethren always delighting to 
do him honor when they had the opportunity. No words of mine can 
add to the deathless fame of one who lived such a noble, useful, un- 
spotted and Masonic life as did he, and who was so universally be- 
loved for his patriotism, statesmanship and integrity. He loved 
Masonry, and Mas an honor to the fraternity. 



I 



JOEL PARKER. Ill 

AMERICAN WHIG SOCIETY, PRINCETON COLLEGE. 

Hall of the American "Whig Society, \ 
January 13, 1888. J 

AVhereas, It has pleased God in His all-wise providence to remove 
from the scene of his earthly activity one who as Governor of New 
Jersey in the Nation's most trying hours displayed exceptional 
ability and unswerving fidelity to the national cause ; and who on 
the Supreme Bench was distinguished for the soundness of his 
decisions ; 

"Whereas, "We the American Whig Society, of which the late ex- 
Governor Joel Parker of the class of '39 was an honored member, 
are deeply sensible of our loss ; therefore, be it 
Resolved, That we as a Society do give this testimony of our regard 

and appreciation of his high character and services, and 

Resolved, That we extend our heartfelt sympathy to his bereaved 

family, and 

Resolved,. That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to his family, 
and that they be puljlished in the A'^assau Literari/ Magazine, the 
Princefonian, and the Princeton Prexs. 

R. P. Shick, '90, 

A. R. GuLicK, '89, 

E. T. Richardson, '88, Chairman. 



MEETING AT ASBURY PARK. 

On the evening of Decoration Day, May 30th, 1888, a large and 
enthusiastic audience gathered in Educational Hall, Asbury Park, to 
do honor to the memory of Judge Parker, the renowned "War Gover- 
nor of New Jersey. The meeting was inaugurated by the Board of 
Trade, and warmly seconded by the G. A. R., for the purpose of in- 
creasing interest in the erection of a statue in Asbury Park in memory 
of the deceased Governor. 

The hall was decorated with colors, and on an easel in front of the 
platform was a well executed portrait of the late Judge. The stage 
was occupied by "Wm. H. Vredenburgh, Esq., Revs. Maddock, Colby, 
Chandler and Goodno, Gen. T. G. Morehead, and the singers and 
Members of the Committee. 

Neptune Cornet Band gave an opening selection. Mr, E. G. Harri- 
son, chairman of the committee, gave a brief review of the movement, 
and presented "Wm. H. Vredenburgh, Esq., as the chairman of the meet- 
ing, who spoke of his friendship with the War Governor, of his 
important services in the Rebellion, and his sturdy loj'alty exhibited 



112 MEMORIAL OF 

in efforts for the preservation of the Tnion. He was glad to see such 
a movement in the most j^rogressive town in the county. 

Prayer was offered by Eev. F. C. Colby, followed by the singing of 
" America," by a sextette, Mr. A. C. Atkins, leader. Three recitations 
were given by daughters of soldiers, and a song was finely rendered 
by the Glee Club. 

Mr. Harrison read a number of letters from distinguished men of 
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, warmly seconding the project, and 
speaking highly of the social and patriotic standing of Gov. Parker. 
These letters were from Gov. Beaver and Gen. Davis, of Pennsylvania, 
Senators,. Sewell, McPherson and Blodgett, Hon. H. M. Nevius, Gov. 
Green, Hon. John Kean, Ex.-Gov. Leon Abbett, Gen. Clinton B. Fisk, 
Judge Scudder, Ex-Judge John L. "Wheeler, Hon. T. G. Chattle, ]Major 
J. S. Yard and Hon. AVm. Walter Phelps. 

Dr. Chandler was then introduced. In his brief address he spoke 
of the high social and christian character of Joel Parker, and his ser- 
vice to the army ; he was always ready, sympathetic and prompt in 
emergencies. He referred to his honorable career, his unswerving 
honesty, earning for him the soubriquet " Honest Joel Parker." His 
war record was based on the motto, the nation must and shall be 
maintained ; the Union should be the condition of peace. He was 
foremost in organizing the State Militia, and notably. New Jersey was 
the only State where no draft was levied by United States officers. 
He closed with incidents and a beautiful tribute to the memory of 
Mr. Parker. 

Mr. Henry G. Clayton spoke of Mr. Parker in his profession ; his 
ability and uprightness. He tilled well the positions he occupied, and 
was firm in times of peril. 

Rev. G. C. ]\Iaddock knew Governor Parker well, and knew him but 
to love hin:i. He was one of the tall, strong men of the State. Though 
but a small state, in the war it was the peer of any in the Union. 

Mr. G. "W. Patterson spoke briefly of ]Mr. Parker as a statesman and 
War Governor. 

Mr. John A. Githens announced the committees selected for the 
several townships, which when completed would be published. 

A song, "Our Loyal, Tried and True," was given by Harry Redway 
and cliorus. A selection by the band and a song, " We deck their 
graves alike to-day," closed the lengthy exercises. 

This assembly of citizens of his native county was an eloquent 
tribute to a man, who, called to prominent positions in a time of un- 
usual trial, and living in the eye of the public for many years, by his 
ability, sagacity, integrity and patriotism secured the approbation of 
all men, and has passed from the stage of earthly activity, leaving an 
untarnished fame. 



JOEL PARKER. 113 

THE PRESS. 



Tributes of respect to the memory of Gov. Parker were published 
by the press generally in this and other States. To copy them all or 
at length would large'y increase the size of this volume. We select 
extracts from a few of them showing the general tenor of these ex- 
pressions : 

True American, Dem. 

No man ever lived in the State of New Jersey who was more widelj' 
known and more generally respected than Joel Parker. * * No 
duty was ever undertaken by him to which he did not give the full 
measure of his abilities. * * His death closes a career which is un- 
tarnished by a single doubtful act, but which shines with an honor 

all its own. 

State Gazette, Rep. 

Sincere grief will be felt by the whole people of New Jersey at the 
sudden death of the good old Jersey patriot, Joel Parker. * * No 
man in his generation has been such a popular favorite witli Jersey- 
men. * * The secret of this strong and enduring popular regard 
for Joel Parker was an abiding faith in his honesty and patriotism. 
* * They regarded him as what he appeared — a bluff, genial, frank, 
honest man, of hard sense, loving and honoring his State, a true Jer- 

sej' patriot. 

Newark Press Register, Rep. 

His simple and unaffected manners, his hearty good nature and un- 
questioned honesty disarmed partisanship and won men's sympathies. 
The death of this eminent and well beloved son of New Jersey is a 
loss to the State, and will be mourned by every Jerseyman who values 
the highest qualities of manhood in a public servant, and who saw 
these qualities embodied in Joel Parker. 

Newark Jourual, Dem. 

The name of Joel Parker was honored by the whole country and by 
all men, and here in New Jersey, where he was known best, he was 
honored and loved most. * * Such men are few. New Jersey has 
long been proud of this one, and mourns him as no other community 

can. 

Trenton Times, Ind. 

His eminent public services and his pure patriotism and integrity 
were thoroughly recognized. * * He leaves behind him a memory 
that is precious to this commonwealth. 

Trenton Emporium, Dem. 

In the death of honest Joel Parker passes away one of the noblest, 
and large-hearted representative Jerseymen. He was a man of the 



114 MEMORIAL OF 

people in every respect. * * His loyalty was undoubted and bis 

patriotism fervent. 

Philadelphia Record. 

He will long be remembered, not only as a leader in his political 
party at a time when patriotism and firmness of character were need- 
ed, but also as a jurist learned in the law and of recognized integrity. 
Americans of the fearless old type of manhood are fast passing away, 
but there is a hope that their virtues will still be emulated, and that 
the example they leave will not be lost on those who come after them. 
Philadelphia Ledger, Ind. 

The record of Joel Parker as Governor of New Jersey in those try- 
ing years [of the war] was one of which any man might w^ell be proud. 
* * His manners were very attractive, although dignified, and while 
his ability and honesty brought him the respect, his benevolence and 
kindly disposition won him the love of all classes of men. 
New York World, Dem. 

In the death of Joel Parker the Democracy of the United States 

loses a man who was more than once considered within easy reach of 

its nomination for the Presidency. He was one of the Democratic 

AVar Governors and filled many jjublic trusts with conspicuous fidelity 

and ability. 

New York Press, Rep. 

In every position which Joel Parker filled he did his duty honestly 

and fearlessly. 

Philadelphia Press, Rep. 

He was a man of the highest character, and his whole career, ex- 
tending over a period of more than forty years, reflects the greatest 
credit upon his native State. 

Mount Holly News, Ind. 

In the death of Hon. Joel Parker the State loses one of her most il- 
lustrious sons. He was a good citizen in every respect and one whose 
kindly face will be greatly missed. 

Newark Evening News, Ind. 

It is not detracting the virtues or the powers of the prominent sons 
of New Jersey w'ho survive him, to say that in the death of Joel Par- 
ker the State is bereft of her foremost citizen ; foremost in the sense 
that his fame was wider and his popularity greater than any of his 
notable contemporaries. * * A character of symmetry rounded out 
with qualities that command recognition; simple and unaft'ected in 
manners, genial, with a close sympathy for his fellow man ; invincible 
integrity ; an untiring worker, close student and a patriot — these were 
the dominating qualities in his composition. But other mental and 
moral charms added to his character that endeared him to all. 
Newark Daily Advertiser, Rep. 

He had reached his three-score years and ten in November, 1886. 



1 



JOEL PARKER. 115 

But his life had been so filled with public activities that its record 
now reads like that of a much longer period. * * And now that he 
is dead, Governors, Legislators and citizens may Avell do him honor 
and recall with gratitude his useful career. Joel Parker was a Dem- 
ocrat, but not a partisan. His breadth of mind, judicial impartiality 
and unswerving honesty of purpose, as well as his clearness of judg- 
ment, made him what he was — a model Executive, a just Judge and a 
trusted citizen. Jerseymen instinctively turned to him, as his party 
habitually did, in every time of public stress and trouble. 

Camden Democrat. 
In the death of Judge Joel Parker ]Sew Jersey loses an eminent 
jurist, an illustrious citizen and an honest man. His record in every 
position which he was called upon to fill by the people, was one which 
reflected high honor upon himself and testified to the fact that confi- 
dence in his worth and merits had never been misplaced. His career, 
whether as member of the State Legislature, Prosecuting Attorney of 
Monmouth County, Governor of the State, Attorney-General, or Asso- 
ciate Justice of the Supreme Court, was ever marked by ability and 
talent of the highest order, while every action bore upon it the impress 
of integrity of character and honesty of purpose. His example was 
one which the young men of our State would do well to follow and 
imitate. Devoted to this State, he was a patriot in the strictest sense 
of the word, and during the rebellion his heart and soul went out in 
strong and mighty endeavor to aid in the preservation of the Union 

and the Republic. 

Monmouth Inquirer, Rep. 

The people of New Jersey honored themselves by honoring him, 
and during his long and active life of three score years and ten, no 
one can point to a single instance where his integrity could be ques- 
tioned or his good name impeached. 

As War Governor, as Legislator, as Attorney-General, or Justice of 
the Supreme Court, as connected with nearly every organization in 
our historic town, he was actuated by the same carefulness and spot- 
less integrity which won for him the love and respect of his fellow men. 

As War Governor we all know how gallantly Governor Parker, with 
unswerving loj'aliy, supported the immortal Lincoln by sending 
regiment after reghnent to the front from New Jersey, and how he 
actively and personally assisted in seeing that the troops from New 
Jersey in the field had the same care as those from other States. It 
is a matter of historic record how quickly he succored the State of 
Pennsylvania when Lee's victorious army was threatening Philadel- 
phia, Baltimore and Washington and thus earned the gratitude of the 
Nation. 

The beautiful monument commemorating the Battle of Monmouth 
was one of his most cherished projects and no man was prouder than 
he when the present handsome shaft was erected to chronicle the 



116 MEMORIAL OF 

gallantry of the men of the Revolution. Particularly fond of histori- 
cal research he even had each spot of the battlefield located. Contrib- 
uting both time and money towards the erection of the shaft, it now 
stands as an enduring monument mostlj'^ to his indefatigable and un- 
selfish labor. 

Judge Parker will long be remembered in Monmouth County and 
the State of New Jersey. Though death for the present separates us, 
yet, in the heart of every Jerseyman will his good deeds be enshrined 
and his pure life be worthy of emulation by all. 

The comments of the Monmouth Democrat are embodied in the re- 
marks at the conclusion of the biographical sketch printed in the 
opening of this volume. 

Newark Call, lud. 

The death of Joel Parker has been the occasion of innumerable trib- 
utes to the man and his deeds. There was much to praise in all he 
did as a public servant ; his record in every station he was called upon 
to fill was unimpeachable; his private character was as pure and 
noble as his public acts were worthy and patriotic, but beyond these 
claims to respect and admiration was an inborn characteristic, vouch- 
safed to few, yet cultivated by so many hypocrites, that its manifesta- 
tion in a public man, without affectation, is to be marked and chron- 
icled as a phenomenon. We refer to the unconscious but pervading 
democracy of his sentiments. In the course of a long acquaintance, 
we never observed, could not have detected, the slightest manifesta- 
tion of the aristocracy of feeling which characterizes nine out of ten 
eminent men. He was always Joel Parker, whether in the highest 
office of the State, on the Bench, or receiving the adulation of the 
public. He was born with an American spirit, and in many respects 
we consider him to have been the most strikingly representative 
American his State has produced, unless we except the late Commo- 
dore Stockton. 

The services of Joel Parker have received recognition at the hands 
of the Bench, the Bar, the officials and the people of the State, since 
his demise on Monday last was announced. No instance can now be 
recalled where words of praise were so well justified by every detail 
of a life spent from early manhood in the bright liglit of public posi- 
tion and popular trust. 




^1 



JOEL PARKER, 
1863. 

FROM A PORTRAIT PAINTED FOR THE LEGISLATURE 
OF NEW JERSEY BY JULIAN SCOTT. 



JOEL PARKER. 117 

^"EW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 



PORTRAIT OF JOEL PARKER. 

At the session of the General Assemblj' of the State of New Jei'sey, 
held January 10, 1888, Hon. Augiiistus Bloomer, of Bergen count}', 
introduced a resolution entitled, " Joint Resolution providing for the 
purchase of a portrait of the Honorable Joel Parker," which was sub- 
sequently passed by the unanimous vote of both houses of the Legis- 
lature, and approved by the Governor. The committee appointed 
under the joint resolution consisted of Hon. Augustus Bloomer, of 
Bergen, and Hon. John Ulrich, of Union, from the House of Assem- 
bly, and Hon. Henry M. Nevius, of Monmouth, from the Senate. 

JOINT RE.SOLUTIOX PROVIDING FOR THE PURCHASE OF A PORTRAIT OF 
THE LATE HONORABLE JOEL PARKER. 

Whereas, The late Honorable Joel Parker was honorably conspicuous 
and eminently useful during a quarter of a century, in the adminis- 
tration of our atfairs of State ; 

And Whereas, By his patriotism, amid the national agony and dan- 
ger of civil conflict, and by his wisdom and integrity after peace had 
come, he earned encomium for himself and honored this common- 
wealth as its chief executive ; 

And Whereas, During his connection with the judiciary of this State 
his service was distinguished and scrupulously upright ; 

And AVhereas, He is worthy of being ranked a peer of those other 
statesmen and jurists who gained respect, gratitude and honor from 
the State of New Jersey ; therefore, 

1. Be it Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of 
New Jersey, That a committee of three be appointed, two from the 
House of Assembly and one from the Senate, to procure a portrait of 
the late Honorable Joel Parker, which shall be hung on the walls of 
the Assembly chamber ; the cost of said portrait, not exceeding one 
thousand dollars, after being approved by said committee or a major- 
ity thereof, shall be paid by the State Treasurer upon a warrant drawn 
by the Comptroller. 

2. And he it Resolved, That this joint resolution shall take effect 
immediately. 

Approved March 23, 1888. 

JOINT MEETING. 

On Wednesday evening, February 4, 1S89, at nine o'clock, the two 
Houses of the Legislature assembled to hold a memorial meeting and 
receive the portrait from the committee. 



118 MEMORIAL OF 

It was formally presented to the State by Hon. John Ulrich, on the 
part of the committee. The picture is a fine oil portrait representing 
Joel Parker as AVar Governor, and was painted by Julian Scott, of 
Plainfield. 

When the Senate had filed into the Assembly Chamber and Pres- 
ident Werts had taken the gavel in hand, the portrait was brought in 
and then Governor Green was conducted into the Chamber and took 
a seat by the side of President Werts. Judge Ulrich then arose and 
addressed the joint meeting as follows : 

Mr. President : At the la«t session of the Legislature the Hon.. 
Anderson Bloomer, then a member of the House of Assembly, intro- 
duced a joint resolution, which provided that a committee of three be 
api)ointed, two from the House of Assembly and one from the Senate,, 
to procure a portrait of the late Hon. Joel Parker, which shall be hung 
on the walls of the Assembly Chamber. 

Pursuant to the resolution, Speaker Dickinson appointed Messrs. 
Bloomer and myself as the House Committee, and Senator Nevius was- 
appointed as the member from the Senate. Shortly after the adjourn- 
ment of the Legislature the committee advised with one another, and 
after inspecting the work of several artists, awarded the contract to 
Mr. Julian Scott, the eminent artist, who has completed his work, 
which is pronounced by competent judges to be a master piece of 
portrait painting, and now awaits the inspection of the joint Assembly. 

The committee, in formally presenting their report for the approval 
of the Legislature, thought it but just and fitting that the same be 
done publiclj^ so that the occasion may l)ecome a matter of record in 
both Houses, each House thereby exemplifying its appreciation in 
perpetuating the memory of an upright man and a true statesman 
— at the same time deeming it our duty as well as our pleasure to> 
review the life of one whose character was spotless, and whose aim 
was to advance every material interest that would tend to the welfare 
of the State. Although the eulogy may fall from the lips of those who- 
may have differed with the departed statesman politicallj% yet the 
occasion is above party, and all political distinctions are forgotten in 
the memory of his character. 

PvX-Governor Joel Parker was born in Freehold township, in the 
county of Monihouth, on the 2-l:th day of November, 181(5 ; he was the 
son of Charles Parker, who was also a son of Monmouth, and who 
served his county as Sheriff', was a member of the House of Assembly, 
and for thirteen years was State Treasurer, at the same time holding 
the position of State Librarian. Joel Parker received his early educa- 
tion at the old Trenton Academj' ; was graduated at Princeton College 
in 1839, and was admitted to the Bar as practicing attorney in 1842. 
His first entrance into the political arena wa« in 1847, when he was 
elected by the suffrage of the people of his district to the House of 
Assemblv. He was soon regarded by the members of the House as a 



JOEL PARKER. 119 

young man of rare attainments. He was possessed of a mind of keen 
perception, was gifted w'ith ready speech — these qualities combined 
with a well trained legal mind placed him as one of the foremost men 
in the House of " 47." It was Governor Parker who introduced and 
fathered the bill to equalize taxation, and insisted that personal as 
well as real property should be assessed and taxed. The passage of 
this act soon gave him State prominence which he so well merited. 

In the year succeeding his election to the Assembly he was tendered 
a renomination, which he declined, as he also did the nomination of 
State Senator, giving as his valid reason that he desired to give his 
entire time and attention to his adopted profession, which he so much 
admired — the Law. 

Nor was he a mean lawyer. Pos-essed was he of a mind capable of 
exercising keen perception, good judgment, and of argumentative 
disposition, well versed in all the rules and practice of the superior 
courts ; yet he did not desire to be termed a technical lawyer, prefer- 
ring at all times to try a cause stricth- upon its merits and in accord 
with justice. 

Governor Parker was of the opinion that the profession of the law 
was a high and dignified calling, steadfastly maintaining that the 
judiciary should be above parties, that the Justices of the Supreme 
Court B?nch should be the furthest removed from political bitter- 
ness, and that such an office should not be regarded as the property 
of any party. 

He maintained that the property, lives and liberties of the people 
were in the hands of the Courts, and was of the opinion that if all the 
judges were of the same political organization that the usefulness of 
the Court would be impaired. 

He insisted that the only inquiry in relation to the appointment of 
a Supreme Court Justice would be, what will be for the best interests 
of the public. Subsequently, Mhen he became Governor of this State, 
he carried this principle into practice. 

In the year 1875 he was nominated by Governor Bedle as Attorney- 
General of the State, and the Senate, well knowing his fitness and 
adaptability for the office, did him honor in confirming him without 
reference. 

In 1883 he was nominated by Governor McClellan and confirmed 
by the Senate as Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, and at the 
expiration of his term was reappointed by Governor Green. He was 
a model Judge. By his uniform kindness and courtesy he won the 
respect of all members of the Bar. The younger members of the Bar, 
particularly, have a warm remembrance of Judge Parker. To them 
he was especially kind ; always ready to advise, and lift them up 
when heavily burdened by doubts and misconceptions. He was pos- 
sessed of good sound sense and applied it to his judicial utterances. 
Others may have been more profound, more learned and more orig- 



120 MEMORIAL OF 

inal than was he, but none regarded the rights and liberties of the 
people more than did Judge Parker. 

Had Judge Parker's mind bent to a seat in the United States Con- 
gress, he would indeed have made a brilliant congressional record. 

In 1854 he was prominently mentioned for Congress, but declined 
the honor in a public letter. In 1858 he was again named, and again 
he declined. 

In the Fall of 1862 he was nominated b)' the Democratic State Con- 
vention as Governor, and again renominated in 1871, being elected 
both times by large majorities. Joel Parker's record as Governor was 
above reproach. His official acts were always consistent with law 
and justice. 

He was an earnest and warm advocate of the public school system, 
and could justly be termed the father of our reformatory institutions. 
During the term of his office as Governor he recommended the estab- 
lishment of a reform school, out of which grew the Jamesburg school, 
which has been the instrument of raising hundreds of youths, who 
otherwise might have led lawless lives and turned out to be hardened 
criminals. 

He Avas an encourager of foreign immigration, ever and anon wel- 
coming to our shores such classes as were desirous of building and 
owning their own homes, and who yearned for free government con- 
structed by the people, of the people and for the people. In all of his 
appointments, both military and civil, he was blind as to any claims 
■save those of character, ability and qualification. 

Time fails me, or I would be tempted to speak of other principles 
advocated by him, and honors thrust upon him. I might mention 
the high regard which his jiarty held him in ; how in 1868 he received 
the unanimous vote of the Xew Jersey delegation for President of the 
United States in the Xational Democratic Convention in New York, 
and again, in 1876, received the same vote for the same position. I 
might allude to his devotion to duty, the pride that he always took in 
his native State, of his faith in the future of his country. I might 
speak of his noble and generous characteristics and of his pure social 
relations, l)ut I must pass all these and refer to a record which shines 
most illustriously. I mean his war record. 

Governor Parker's name will go down in history as Xew Jersey's 
loyal "War Governor, and his name will be handed down to future 
<^enerations as the name of one who was the soldiers' friend. In the 
dark days of the Rebellion, when the fate of our country depended 
greatlv upon the loyalty of the people of the North, Governor Parker 
was not found wanting. He had his own positive convictions as to 
the future of our country and was fearless in expressing them. He 
insisted that the restoration and maintenance of the Union was the 
first and chief duty of a citizen. He urged that it was the duty of the 
State authorities to furnish the men necessary to destroy the armed 



JOEL PARKER. 



121 



power of the Rebellion, and in referring to the obstructionii^ts who 
insisted, among other things, that the Union should not be restored 
under the old constitution, he said: 

" We should not abandon the government of our country engaged 
in war with those who would destroj' our national existence. The 
Government is designed to be perpetual. The Union must be pre- 
served." 

Having learned in 1833 that the United States was aliout to as.-^ign 
quotas to the several districts in New Jersey and to draft for troops. 
Governor Parker applied for authority to raise volunteers. The 
authority w^as granted, and under it he issued a proclamation to the 
paople to make special effort in volunteering. Loyal meetings were 
held throughout the State, municipalities offered liberal bounties, and 
earnest appeals were made by citizens requesting loyal men to enter 
the front. Through these noble efibrts of Governor Parker Xew Jer- 
sey can proudly boast of the fact that her loyal sons entered the war 
voluntarily, and that no man was ever taken away unwillingly from 
the State to fill the quotas of troops demanded by the United States 
Government. 

You remember the cloudy summer of " 63." You Senators do. It 
was when Lee invaded Pennsylvania, and the country was alarmed 
at the high strides that the rebel army had made. The two great 
contending armies accidentally met at Gettysburg — the hour of peril 
seemed to be at hand. Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, had but 
few troops at his command. That was the hour in which Governor 
Parker showed the country that the true spark of loyalty was burning 
within him ; he recognized Pennsylvania's peril, aye, the country's 
peril ; he speedily issued a proclamation for more volunteers, he 
entreated and induced several regiments whose time of service had 
expired, and who were returning homeward, to retrace their steps, 
and before the citizens of Philadelphia had recovered from their 
panic, in the Wheat Field, the Peach Orchard, on little Round Top, and 
at the Bloody Angle was heard the rifles of New Jersey's loyal sons. 
The high-water mark of the Rebellion was reached — crushed — aye, 
and New Jersey helped to crush it. 

For the services which Governor Parker had rendered at the battle 
of Gettysburg, the immortal Lincoln thanked him by letter. 

After the battle of Gettysburg Governor Parker, without waiting for 
the action of the Legislature, sent a special agent to the battlefield to 
superintend the removal of New Jersey's dead soldiers. A plot of 
ground was secured, the bodies were carefully interred, and over the 
graves of the unknown dead sacred services were held in commemo- 
ration of those who had sacrificed their lives that the country might 
live. 

Governor Parker has justly been calle<l the Soldiers' Friend. During 
his first year as Governor he organized a New Jersey agency for sol- 



I 



122 MEMORIAL OF 

diers, with headquarters at Washington. The agency was designed to 
look after the general welfere of New Jersey troops, to alleviate the 
suffei'ings of the sick and wounded at the hospitals, to receive money 
from the soldiers and transmit it to their families without expense to 
them, and to attend to every material want of the soldier. 

In his second annual message he recommended the establishment 
of a Soldiers' Home, which recommendation was adopted by the Leg- 
islature, and a retreat was established, which has been the means of 
comforting and sheltering hundreds of soldiers in their declining years. 

These, Mr. President, are some of the noble characteristics and 
qualities which ex-Governor Parker possessed in his lifetime, and 
when the silent messenger of deatli entered his chamber at midnight 
on the 2d of January, 1888, there was summoned from New Jersey's 
hosts a life that was noble, kind and pure ; a life that would be 
missed in the councils of the Commonwealth ; a life that would be 
sadly missed by a bereaved wife and loving children. 

Ungrateful would this State be if it did not recognize his services in 
some tangible form, and happy was the thought that suggested that 
our remembrance of him be renewed by gazing upon canvass. 

In the absence of the Chairman of the House Committee, it becomes 
my duty to now formally present this portrait, Avhich portrays ex-Gov- 
ernor Parker during his term as "War Governor, to the House, sin- 
cerely trusting that it shall not hang upon the walls of the Assembly 
Chamber as an ornament, or to be solely inspected as an elegant work 
of art, but that under its shadow the members of this House and 
future Houses will recall the real life of one whose noble heart always 
beat with pride for having been a true and loyal Jerseyman — and 
looking uj) into his manly, digniiied and open countenance, may many 
generations catch the poetical song : 

" Lives of great meu all remind lis 
We cau make our lives sublime, 
And, departing, leave behind us 
Footprints on the sands of time." 

ADDRE.SS OF SEXATOK HENRY M. NEVIUS. 

Mr. Chairman : — It is indeed a pleasure for me to be here to-night. 
Owing to my recent severe illness, the presentation of this splendid 
life-like portrait was shifted from my shoulders to those of the gentle- 
man who has so ably performed that pleasant duty. I did not expect 
to be called upon, but I only regret, that physically and mentally I 
am unable to do justice to the memory of Joel Parker. I knew him 
intimately from my earliest boyhood to the time of his death. I knew 
him as a kind, genial, sociable man, and particularly agreeable to the 
young men. I remember well that while I Avas studying in the office 
of General Haight, at Freehold, upon diflerent occasions when the in- 
tricacies of certain duties devolving upon me and I could not see my 
way clear, that Joel Parker was always ready with a word of advice 



JOEL PARKER. 123 

iind explanation, and ahvaj'S did it cheerfully. He was a lawyer of 
marked ability, and when he came to the bar it was to meet and cope 
with such men as Dayton, Eyall, Yredenburgh, Bradley, and others 
who became celebrated jurists. He always made his client's case his 
own ; his fidelity and energy soon brought him a large practice. As 
Prosecutor of the Pleas he was a success, and a terror to law-breakers. 
He never sought victims, but always strove to maintain the dignity 
of the law, and to punish the guilty. I remember well his ability and 
genius in the celebrated Donnelly case, in which he was opposed by 
Bradley and Pennington ; Avhile there was positive evidence in the 
-case it was of such a character as to throw doubt upon it. Yet Joel 
Parker, by his energy and zeal, wove such a chain of circumstantial 
evidence around Donnelly that there was no escape. He Avas a man 
who was always on the alert in every ne"\v enterprise afiecting the 
communit}^ in which he resided and the enterprise that met with his 
approval always received his cordial support and was sure to be suc- 
cessful, while if it met with his disapproval it was abandoned or de- 
feated. His statesmanlike qualities were tirst discovered in this 
Chamber as a member from Monmouth, when he served his county 
w'ith marked ability. He was elected Governor of our State at the 
most critical period of its history, and here his unselfish patriotism, 
his loyalty, his great ability carried him through his term of office 
without a taint ujson his escutcheon, and his administration is marked 
as one of the most brilliant in the history of our State. He served the 
State as Attorney-General with great ability ; again he was elected 
Governor by a lai'ge majority and again gave the State an administra- 
tion to which his friends and party point with pride. He was ap- 
pointed Justice of the Supreme Court ; to this position he brought a 
well trained legal mind, which placed him in the first rank among the 
jurists of the State. But Joel Parker is dead, and we can safely say 
that as a lawyer, as a legislator, as a Governor, as a Judge, as a citizen, 
no man ever commanded and deservedly, so much respect and confi- 
dence from the people of the whole State as did Joel Parker. In his 
death his family lose a loving husband and affectionate father, the 
State of New Jersey one of its most valuable citizens, our statesmen 
one of their most valuable advisers, the Judiciary one of its brightest 
lights. He stands to-night before that court from whose decrees there 
is no appeal, and we believe that it is well with him. 

ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR ROBERT S. GREEX. 

Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Senate and General Assembly : 

I regret exceedingly having been notified only on entering the 
House this evening that some remarks were expected of me. No op- 
portunity has been given for preparation of an appropriate and ade- 
quate tribute to the distinguished citizen. Governor and Judge whose 
memorv we meet to honor. But I cannot fail to lav mv garland on 



I 



124 MEMORIAL OF JOEL PARKER. 

the shrine, be it ever so hastily gathered, or ever so incomplete and 
humble. The eloquent member from Union and the Senator from Mon- 
mouth, have spoken in detail of his many virtues and gifts — of his long 
and varied service to the State — be it mine to recall some of the general 
characteristics which distinguished him. Joel Parker, more than any 
man within my recollection, held and enjoyed the absolute and un- 
varying confidence of the people of the State. His honesty of purpose, 
his unswerving fidelity to duty, his unquestioned and unquestionable 
integrity, commanded and renewed this faith, which was perennial 
and ever fresh and strong. He was proud of his native State. He 
was a Jerseyman " from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot." 
Whatever might tend to shed lustre on her honor or her history, re- 
ceived from him an active and hearty co-operation and support. 
"Whatever might tend to her prosperity or usefulness found in him an 
earnest sympathy and aid. AVhatever might tend to diminish her 
glory, or infringe u])on her rights, received his immediate and indig- 
nant protest and repulse. Responding with patriotism and alacrity to 
every demand which her loyal devotion to the integrity of the Union 
required, he hesitated not a moment, when her right to execute her 
laws within her own territory was questioned, to assert and maintain 
her sovereignty under the Constitution of the country. Loyal to the 
Nation and the State, public spirited as a citizen, fearless in the dis- 
charge of duty as an officer, ])atriotic and wis-e as a statesman, far seeing 
and preeminent as a Governor, impartial and learned as a Judge, Joel 
Parker in history will be a grand, heroic figure, respected, revered and 
beloved by every true Jerseyman. 

On motion of Mr. Hudspeth the picture was formally received and 
ordered to be hung in the Assembly Chamber. 

Senator Edwards' motion, that a vote of thanks be extended to the 
joint committee that procured the portrait, was adopted, when the 
joint meeting arose. 



The Joel Parker As-ociation also procured and presented to the 
State an oil portrait of Gov. Parker representing him in advanced 
years, which has been hung in the Executive Chamber. 



Olive Branch Lodge No. 16, F. A. M., has purchased an excellent 
likeness of Judge Parker, which now hangs in the Lodge Room at 
Freehold. 



APPENDIX. 



Invasion of Pennsylvania. 



A century of national life has demonstrated the fact that a nation 
composed of many independent States united in one central govern- 
ment has in it the elements of strength and permanence. Not even 
the stern discipline of civil strife has retarded the progress and pros- 
perity of our great country. No longer have we a Union of States 
" dissevered, discordant, belligerent," but a strong compact in which 
the different commonwealths, recognizing a diversity of interests, are 
firmly joined under a Constitution which has been framed for the 
good of the body politic. 

The fraternal feeling existing between the States was finely exem- 
plified at the the time of the invasion of Pennsylvania by the South- 
ern army under General Lee. The news that a hostile force had 
entered a neighboring State for the purpose of taking possession of 
the capital occasioned great consternation. At that juncture Gov. 
Curtin sent the following telegram to Governor Parker : 

Harrisburg, June 15, 1863. 
Gov. Joel Parker : 

This State is threatened with invasion by a large force and we are 
raising troops, as rapidly as possible, to resist them. I understand 
there are three regiments of your troops at Beverly, waiting to be 
mustered out. Could an arrangement be made with you and the 
authorities at AVashington by which the service of those regiments 
could be had for the present emergency? Please advise immediately. 

A. G. CuRTiN, Gov. Pa. 



TELEGRAM. 



Executive Chamber, Trextox, N. J., \ 
June 15, 1863. j 

His Excellency A. G. Curtin, Governor of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg : 

Your dispatch is received ; one regiment has already volunteered 
and no doubt others can be sent. Where shall they report and to 
whom ? To whom shall they apply for transportation from Philadel- 
phia ? Answer. 

Joel Parker. 



128 MEMORIAL OF 

On June 17, 1863, Governor Parker issued two Proclamations ; one 
calling on the militia of the State to organize into regiments for the 
assistance of Penns3'lvania, the other appealing to the nine months 
regiments to render a like service. 



A PROCLAMATION. 

Executive Chamber, Trexton, N. J., \ 
June 17, 1863. / 

Jerseymen ! The State of Pennsylvania is invaded ! A hostile army 
is now occu^jying and despoiling the towns of our sister State. She 
appeals to New Jersey, through her Governor, to aid in driving back 
the invading army. 

Let us respond to this call upon our patriotic State with unprece- 
dented zeal. 

I therefore call upon the citizens of this State to meet and organize 
into companies, and report to the Adjutant General of the State as 
soon as possible, to be organized into regiments as the militia of New 
Jersey, and press forward to the assistance of Pennsylvania in this 
emergency. 

The organization of these troops will l)e given in general orders as 
soon as practicable. 

Given under my hand and privy seal this seventeenth day of June, 
[l. s.] eighteen hundred and sixty-three. 
Attest: Joel Parker. 

S. M. Dickinson, Private Secretary. 



APPEAL to the nine MONTHS REGIMENTS. 

State of New Jersey, \ 
Executive Chamber, Trexton, June 17, 1863. j 

Soldiers ! The Governor of Pennsylvania has requested your ser- 
vices to assist in repelling an invasion of that State. Your term of 
service has ex])ired. You have performed your duty, and your gal- 
lant conduct has reflected honor on yourselves and the State that sent 
you forth. 

It will take time to organize and send troops to the aid of Pennsyl- 
vania. You are already organized and drilled. The hard service you 
have seen in Virginia has made you veterans — far more efticient than 
new troops can possibly be. 

I regret any necessity that may detain you from your homes, but 
can this appeal from a sister State, in her hour of danger, be disre- 
garded ? 

Your State and United States pay will be continued. You will not 
be required to go out of tlie State of Pennsylvania, and will return as 



JOEL PARKER. 129 

soon as the emergency will admit. Your response to this appeal will 
add to the fame you have already achieved. 

Joel Parker. 



TELEGRAM. 

Trextox, June 17, 1863. 
Gen. A. L. Rvssell, Adjutant-General, Harrkhurg, Pa.: 

The Twenty -third New Jersey Regiment (returned volunteers,) left 
for Harrisburg at 5 P. M. to-day, three hundred strong. Two compa- 
nies of the State Militia go at 9 A. M. to-morrow. The others will be 
forwarded by comjmnies as fast as they can be equipped. I thought 
best not to delay for regimental organization, but will perfect that in 
the field. Members of the Twenty-third on furloughs will be for- 
warded to join the regiment. 

R. F. Stockton, Jr., Adj. Gen. N. J. M. 

The Twenty-third regiment, of which General E. Burd Grubb was 
Colonel, was at Beverly, waiting to be mustered out. Desiring to have 
detailed information concerning the circumstances attending the 
re-enlistment of his regiment, application was recently made to the 
Colonel, to which the following reply was received : 

Edgewater Park, April 22, 1889. 
Dear Madam : 

* * The facts are these. The regiment was at Beverly awaiting 
muster out. the term for which it was enlisted having expired. I was 
its Colonel. One day, about the seventeenth of June, I was in Tren- 
ton and taking lunch at General Stockton's house. While at the table 
a telegram was handed to General Stockton, who was at that time 
Adjutant General of New Jersey, in which Governor Curtin informed 
Governor Parker that the rebels had invaded Pennsylvania, and urg- 
ing him to send at once any troops he had. Gen. Stockton asked me 
whether I thought my men would go to Pennsylvania, and I answered 
that I thought they would go. He told me to go to Beverly and get 
them together, and that Governor Parker would come down there. 
Within an hour I had the regiment in line, and the Governor made 
to them the most magnificent and stirring appeal I ever heard, even 
from his eloquent lips. When he had ended I said a few words, and 
then asked every man who would go to meet the enemy again, to step 
two paces to the front. Every man advanced, and the number was 
four hundred and twentj^-five, (425). * * 

With profound respect and a deep affection for the memory of your 
great husband, believe me, dear madam, 

Sincereh" yours, 

Mrs. Joel Parker. E. Bird Grubb. 



130 MEMORIAL OF JOEL PARKER. 

Transportation was telegraghed for, but it was late in the day before 
it was furnished. " In the dusk of the evening the regiment landed at 
Walnut street wharf, in Philadelphia, and preceded by a band, march- 
ed through the crowded streets, greeted at every step by peals of 
cheers, to the Harrisburg depot, whence it being impossible to procure 
transportation, it proceeded to the corner of Twenty-seventh and 
Market streets, where it was quartered for the night."* 

The Twenty-third was the first regimental organization to reach the 
city of Harrisburg. 

In the mean time Col. William R. Murphy, formerly Colonel of the 
Tenth Regiment, started from Bordentown with one company on the 
morning of the 18th, and arrived at Harrisburg at twelve o'clock at 
night, liefore anj' volunteers from Philadelphia had arrived. He was 
soon joined by Companies A Band C, of Trenton, and Company D, of 
Lambertville. They were joyfully welcomed by the citizens of Harris- 
burg. 

The Twenty-seventh Regiment, under command of Col. George W. 
Mindil, en route home, from the West, hearing on June 17th, at Cin- 
cinnati, of the invasion of Pennsylvania by General Lee, immediately 
volunteered for its defense, and having previously performed excellent 
service at Pittsburg, reached Harrisburg on June 27th. This regiment 
was composed of men from Sussex and Morris counties. 

In a letter to Governor Parker, dated June 24th, 1863, Governor 
Curtin said : " I cannot close this communication without expressing 
to you the thanks of the people of Pennsylvania for your promptness 
in responding to their calls, and to the people of New Jersej' for the 
patriotic disposition they so truly manifest, and their willingness to 
take up arms for our defence." 

A telegram from President Lincoln, received June 30, 18(53, closed 
with these words : " Please accept nay sincere thanks for what you 
have done and are doing to get troops forward." 

Major James S. Yard has alluded to the incidents here narrated in 
his admirable address before the Historical Society of New Jersey, in 
illustration of the energy and promptness with which Governor Par- 
ker responded to everj^ appeal for aid. 

New Jersey is proud of the gallant soldiers who represented her on 
the l)attlefield and of all the heroes, civil and military, Avhose patriot- 
ism was unwavering in the time of national sorrow ; yet these me- 
morial pages show that none was more greatly honored and beloved 
than the man who was her Governor during the last three years of 
deadly conflict for the preservation of the Union of the States. 

* J. Y. Foster, Xew Jersey and the Rebellion. 



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